Portuguese politician and diplomat, who is also the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, says he is alarmed at reports that children may constitute a large part of the force recruited and used by al-Shabab militants in Somalia.
According to Ceoafrica, the 9th secretary general of the UN said that it is estimated that more than half its force are children and said that at least, 60% of al-Shabab "elements" captured in Somalia's semi-autonomous Punt land region in March 2016, were children.
In a report to the UN Security Council circulated this week, he said children were used in combat, with nine-year-olds reportedly taught to use weapons and sent to front lines, act as spies, carry ammunition and perform domestic chores.
While al-Shabab, was the main perpetrator, the report added that the Somali army and other groups also recruited and used children.
Al-Shabaab is a jihadist terrorist group based in East Africa, which in 2012, pledged allegiance to the militant Islamist organization, Al-Qaeda.
