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Children disappear across Iraq, but critics say authorities lack plan

As child abduction continues to plague Iraq, the government has still not taken serious measures to deal with the problem, such as funding research and coordinating investigation.
Displaced Iraqi children fleeing violence in the Iraqi town of Hit, are seen at a refugee camp in Basra April 5, 2016. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani - RTSDOOS
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BAGHDAD — The Baghdad Operations Command announced the release of two kidnapped children from southern Baghdad on Aug. 20. The crime itself was no surprise, as the abduction of children has become a serious and common social problem in Iraq. This summer, a UN report confirmed that 1,496 Iraqi children have been abducted during the past 36 months and few have been seen again. In one rare case, on Aug. 3, a kidnapped child was released from captivity and his kidnapper arrested in Baghdad.

Poor Iraqi families have been calling for help since June in Basra, where children are now being snatched from the streets or their homes. On June 22, the council of Al-Qurnah district in the Basra governorate warned about the rise of child abduction, demanding the security forces to take decisive actions against it. This kind of crime had previously affected the children of the rich.

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