DAKAR, Senegal -- The UN children's agency says more than 300,000 young people migrating alone have been recorded in a two-year period, marking a dramatic escalation of a dangerous trend that has forced some young refugees into slavery and prostitution.
UNICEF says 170,000 of those children sought asylum in Europe in 2015-2016, many after making the treacherous trip across the Mediterranean Sea where hundreds of children are estimated to have drowned last year.
The agency says the number of recorded children travelling unaccompanied has risen nearly fivefold since 2010-2011, coinciding with a major increase in refugees worldwide. The figure includes only solo children who were registered at a border or as part of an asylum claim and the actual total is believed to be much higher.
