DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Children are bearing the brunt of five years of fighting in Central African Republic as thousands are trapped in armed groups and many suffer sexual violence.
That's according to the United Nations children's agency, which says tens of thousands of children are going hungry and one in four have fled their homes.
A new report pleads for millions in funding for one of the world's most "neglected" crises.
Violence has intensified and spread in the past year after a period of relative peace as armed groups battle over lands rich in gold, diamonds and uranium.
Fighters often target civilians rather than each other, attacking health facilities and schools, mosques and churches and camps for displaced people, UNICEF says. At least half of the more than 640,000 people displaced are children.
Disclaimer: This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Associated Press (AP) wire.
