Hundreds Of School Shutdown In Mali's Rebel Areas

Mali's deteriorating security condition has brought more than 500 hundred schools to complete shutdown and kept more than 150,000 children out of school, according to a report by Amnesty International.

Amnesty International’s West Africa researcher Gaetan Mootoo said: "Tens of thousands of children are paying a high price as violence and insecurity continue in the north and has now spread to the central region of Mali. The denial of their right to education has reached a crisis point. This has to stop."

Violations and abuses are increasing in the northern and central Mali ever since the conflicts started between government and rebels, who are operating in regions of Gao, Kidal, Ségou, Mopti and Timbuktu.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said that weak government administration and lack of qualified teachers add to problem in providing education in these areas.