More than 100,000 babies die each year as a result of armed conflict, concludes a report from the NGO Save the Children released Friday in Germany.

According to the NGO, at least 550 000 infants died between 2013 and 2017 in the ten countries most affected by wars, due to hunger, lack of hygiene or access to health care, or by refusing help.

The death toll even goes up to 870,000 if we include all children under five, said the organization said that this tragedy may be undervalued.

In comparison, about 175,000 fighters reportedly died in the same period in the countries studied: Afghanistan, Yemen, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Syria, Iraq, Mali, Nigeria and Somalia.

“Every day, children are attacked because armed groups and military forces do not respect international laws and treaties. From the use of chemical weapons to rape as a weapon of war, war crimes are committed with impunity, “said Helle Thorning-Schmidt, a representative of Save the Children.

These children probably would not have died if they had not lived in conflict-affected areas, says the NGO, which is releasing its report on the sidelines of the annual security conference in Munich.

This conference brings together until Sunday hundreds of political, diplomatic, military and scientific leaders from some forty countries.

“When the rules of war are violated, the international community must be clear in recalling that this is not tolerable and that the perpetrators are accountable,” said Thorning-Schmidt.

Some 420 million children, or 18 percent of all children in the world, lived in conflict-affected areas in 2017, up 30 million from the previous year.

Among the recommendations for governments and armed groups, the NGO calls on belligerents to pledge not to recruit combatants under 18 and to avoid the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. .