Gaza, Syria, Central African Republic, Ukraine...
These are just a few of the countries this year where armed conflict is wreaking havoc, affecting millions of children.
Christophe Boulierac, of the United Nations children's agency UNICEF, calls 2014 devastating.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) UNICEF SPOKESMAN, CHRISTOPHE BOULIERAC, SAYING:
"Children were maimed, killed, raped, tortured, and never in recent memory have been children subjected to such an extreme brutality."
UNICEF estimates that globally some 230 million children live in countries affected by armed conflict.
Fifteen million of them live in regions of major conflicts, like Central African Republic, where tit-for-tat sectarian violence displaced one fifth of the population.
The 50-day war in the Palestinian Gaza Strip left more than 500 children dead and more than 3,000 injured.
Not even the schools -- often used for shelter -- were spared.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) UNICEF SPOKESMA
