Nepal's Children Suffer in Civil War

Nepal's civil war has seen a significant increase in violence against children, with murder, illegal detention and rape being used as weapons by both sides, according to a new report by Amnesty International.

Amnesty says the Royal Nepalese Army has arbitrarily killed children, and subjected others to illegal detention and torture.

The report, entitled Children Caught in the Conflict, also shows that during their nine-year uprising the Maoists have killed children as young as one year old, terrorised schools, and forcibly recruited teenagers as young as 13 into their ranks.

"We have put these findings to both sides but are facing denials from the government and the rebels," said Clare Castillejo, Amnesty's researcher on Nepal. "The future is not very bright when the human rights of children are being abused on such a scale."

The war between the government and Maoists has taken a turn for the worse since February, when the king seized power in a coup and jailed elected politicians.

Although there have been protests by Britain, India and the US, three countries that are coordinating their actions over Nepal, all appear to have decided that the king is a better bet than the Maoists. The result is a softly-softly approach to the king and the army.

Nepal's war is now the bloodiest in Asia, with more than 12,000 lives lost in less than a decade. Of particular concern are unexploded landmines, increasingly becoming a feature of the conflict.

Indicating the extent of the casualties, the Nepal Campaign to Ban Landmines reported that mines and unexploded ordnance had killed 92 children during the first six months of 2004.

With half of Nepal's population living on less than a dollar a day and many parts of the country facing acute food shortages, Amnesty says there "is little doubt that many more children are dying from poverty and disease exacerbated by the conflict".