Iraqis Resort To Selling Children

Iraqis Resort To Selling Children:

"Local officials and aid workers have expressed concern over the alarming rate at which children are disappearing countrywide in Iraq's current unstable environment.

Many Iraqi families have fled sectarian fighting to live in makeshift camps [EPA] Omar Khalif, vice-president of the Iraqi Families Association (IFA), an NGO established in 2004 to register cases of those missing and trafficked, said that at least two children are sold by their parents every week.

Another four are reported missing every week.

He said: '[The] numbers are alarming. There is an increase of 20 per cent in the reported cases of missing children compared to last year.'

'In previous years, children were reported missing on their way home from schools or after playing with friends outside their homes. However, police investigations have revealed that many have been sold by their parents to foreign couples or specialized gangs.'"