220 mn children live in conflict zones: UN official

United Nations, Dec 19: UN Secretary General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Leila Zerrougui, has said that over 220 million kids reside in 20 conflict zones around the world.

"More than 220 million children live in 20 countries hit by armed conflicts around the world, including eight Arab countries and eight African countries," Zerougui said, Xinhua news agency has reported.

Zerougui said this on the sidelines the 4th High Level Seminar on Peace and Security in Africa being held in Oran, 420 km from Algiers on Sunday.

The UN official said a total of 65 million people fled these conflict zones, including 28 million children, as these tragic events were affecting the future generations.

She also cited six major and serious violations against children -- mutilations, executions, sexual violence, forced recruitment, attacks on schools and hospitals, abductions and denial of access to humanitarian aid.