UN: 15m children affected by conflicts

The UN children’s agency declared 2014 a devastating year for children with as many as 15m caught in conflicts in Central African Republic, Iraq, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and the Palestinian territories.

Unicef executive director Anthony Lake said the high number of crises meant many of them were quickly forgotten or failed to capture global headlines, such as in Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

Globally, Unicef said some 230m children were living in countries and regions affected by armed conflict.