Schools and universities have been subjected to increasing violence in recent years, an international study has found.
The survey of conflicts in 70 countries between 2009-13 – published on Thursday by the US-based Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) – reveals that violent assaults on educational establishments are far more widespread than previously reported.
A total of 9,600 schools in the period were documented as being damaged or destroyed by attacks that included air and missile strikes, burnings, looting and armed occupation by army or guerrilla groups.
The worst-affected country was Pakistan, where more than 800 schools were deliberately attacked between 2009 and 2012 alone, with many destroyed through explosions.