London, Oct 11 (ANI): Islamists who seized control of part of Mali, are reportedly buying child soldiers, paying families 600 dollars per child, it has emerged.
According to a senior UN official, the Islamists are amassing money from ransoms and drug trafficking while imposing Sharia law.
Ivan Simonovic, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, said that Women's rights were being particularly restricted, and cited the compilation of a "frightening" list of unmarried women who were pregnant or had borne children.
"More women were being forced into marriage - with a wife costing less than 1,000 dollars- and some were then being resold in a smokescreen for enforced prostitution," the BBC quoted Simonovic, as saying.
"Human rights violations are becoming more systematic," he said, adding that Islamists had 'imposed an extremist version of Sharia'.
While speaking at the UN headquarters in New York, Simonovic also revealed so far there had been three public executions, eight amputations and two floggings.
"There were allegations of torture and inhuman prison conditions in southern Mali, where the government retains control," Simonovic added.
According to the report, he urged authorities to investigate these cases if they expected UN help as Mali's army tries to reclaim the north. (Xinhua-ANI)
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