No end to suffering of Syrian children as world fails

A seven-year-old child stands in front of her damaged school in Idleb, Syria. October 2016. Photo: UNICEF

While the world fails to end thee Syrian conflict and Bashar al Assad struts around, a new report has documented a horrible specter of children killed in 2016.

A new study ‘Hitting Rock Bottom – How 2016 became the worst year for Syria’s children,’ says 652 children were killed last year the highest number of grave violations against them since verification began in 2014.

The number of children killed in the previous years might have been higher since 2011. Violence between Bashar al Assad’s forces and ISIS militants has reduced the entire cities to rubbles.

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund the killing of Syrian children means a 20 per cent increase compared to 2015 – 255 among them were killed in or near a school.
Maiming and recruitment of children also rose sharply as violence across the country saw a drastic escalation.

“The depth of suffering is unprecedented. Millions of children in Syria come under attack on a daily basis, their lives turned upside down,” the UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Geert Cappelaere, said.

“Each and every child is scarred for life with horrific consequences on their health, well-being and future,” he added.

The report says the most vulnerable among Syria’s children are the 2.8 million in hard-to-reach areas, including 280,000 children living under siege, almost completely cut off from humanitarian aid.

Displaced families from Reyadeh and 1070 neighbourhoods take shelter at a kindergarten in western Aleppo city.

“Beyond the bombs, bullets and explosions, children are dying in silence often from diseases that can otherwise be easily prevented. Access to medical care, lifesaving supplies and other basic services remains difficult,” read the release.
UNICEF also warned that coping mechanisms are eroding both within Syria and across its borders – families are taking extreme measures just to survive, often pushing children into early marriage and child labour.

Nearly six million children now depend on humanitarian assistance, a twelve-fold increase from 2012. Millions of children have been displaced, some up to seven times.

Over 2.3 million children are estimated to be now living as refugees in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq.