(UN News Centre) – As South Sudan enters its sixth year of independence, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is calling the situation in the country “a catastrophe for children” and cautioned that they are being denied a childhood in nearly all aspects of their lives. “A country’s independence day should be celebrated. However, today in South Sudan, there will be no celebration for the millions of children caught up in this conflict,” said Mahimbo Mdoe, UNICEF’s Representative in South Sudan, on the occasion of South Sudan’s Independence Day on 9 July.