A/HRC/15/48 F. Child rights 28. Children continued to be disproportionately affected by the conflict in central and southern Somalia. Recruitment of children to be put on the front line remained an issue of major concern, as recent media attention highlighted the presence of children within the ranks of the forces linked to the Government, although the TFG has denied this. The majority of the reports of new instances of recruitment and training of children attribute responsibility to the anti–Government elements. On 15 June 2010, TFG President Sheik Sharif Ahmed, in a public statement, instructed his Army Chief to investigate the alleged presence of children in the Armed Forces. 29. The Somali conflict impacted children more generally in and around Mogadishu. As an example, it was reported that on 4 July 2010, an explosion killed some staff of the Ministry of Finance. Government forces responded by storming the neighbouring Alhilal Primary and Secondary School in the Hamweyne District, where they arrested 19 students aged between 7 and 16 years. These children were subsequently released, but the incident demonstrated the extreme vulnerability of young people to the suspicion of being directly involved in the fighting. 30. Rape and other grave sexual violence against children continued to be a major protection concern. Impunity for the perpetrators of crimes against children, including sexual violence, remained common in all parts of Somalia. This was happening despite ongoing United Nations work with law enforcement entities and the judiciary in certain areas to ensure such cases are passed through the formal legal system. There was, however, no evidence to suggest that the parties to the conflict were systematically engaging in patterns of rape and other acts of sexual violence against children. G. Right to food, nutrition and health 31. According to United Nations reports, the nearly countrywide good rains during the April–June Gu rainy season had improved the food security situation in Somalia, reducing the number of people facing a humanitarian crisis from 2.65 million to 2 million people, which is a 25 per cent of reduction from the previous season. However 2 million in crisis represents 27 per cent of the total population, which is still very significant and of great concern. This figure, based on the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) Post–Gu countrywide assessment released in August 2010,5 was a slight improvement from the beginning of the year when 3.2 million, or 43 per cent of the population, were in need of humanitarian assistance. Nevertheless, nationally, the number of acutely malnourished children was estimated to be 230,000, of which 35,000 are severely malnourished, the majority of the latter being in south–central Somalia. 32. The forced movement of people caused by the conflict, combined with the rains, had also limited people’s ability to access clean water and basic health services. Thus, even though access to food may have improved for some, a “public health crisis” persisted in south–central Somalia. For example, there were 25,000 reported cases of acute watery diarrhoea from January to May 2010, the majority of which were children. 33. The FSNAU assessment confirmed deterioration in the rates of severe acute malnutrition from 4.6 per cent six months previously to 7.1 per cent in the Central region, which was most affected by the cumulative effects of drought, high food prices and 5 See “Somalia Humanitarian Crisis Eases but 2 Million Somalis Still Need Aid”. Available from http://www.fsnau.org/in-focus/somalia-humanitarian-crisis-eases-2-million-somalis-still-need-aid. 9