(Norwegian Refugee Council) – Six years since the start of the war in Syria, 13.5 million people remain in need of aid in dire and deteriorating conditions. Half as many are displaced in their own country, with almost five million refugees in neighbouring countries where conditions keep getting increasingly desperate. Link
Read more
(AP) – In Syria, last year was the worst yet for the country’s rising generation, with at least 652 children killed in 2016, the United Nations’ child relief agency said Monday. There was no letup to attacks on schools, hospitals, playgrounds, parks and homes as the Syrian government, its opponents and the allies of both sides […]
(UNICEF) – Grave violations against children in Syria were the highest on record in 2016, said UNICEF in a grim assessment of the conflict’s impact on children, as the war reaches six years. Verified instances of killing, maiming and recruitment of children increased sharply last year in a drastic escalation of violence across the country. Link
(UNICEF) – 10 year-old Amin was playing with his cousin when he found an unexploded bomb. “I was thrilled and wanted to show it to my friends,” he said. “I grabbed the bomb. It exploded immediately. Shrapnel entered my chest, it burned like a fire. I was rushed to a hospital in Aleppo where I stayed for […]
(Chicago Tribune) – On Wednesday, ISIS terrorists disguised as doctors attacked an Afghan hospital in Kabul, killing dozens and injuring more. It may seem shocking, but attacks on hospitals and health care workers are not a new phenomenon. Dr. Zaher Sahloul said it has become a military strategy in Syria. Link
(Save the Children) – A new report by Save the Children has revealed a mental health crisis among children trapped in Syria, as the war approaches the six year mark. The charity and its Syrian partners interviewed more than 450 children, adolescents and adults across seven governorates in Syria for “Invisible Wounds”, the largest study of […]
(AP) – A network of organizations seeking to protect children in conflict urged U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday to add 11 parties to the blacklist of countries and armed groups responsible for grave violations against children. The Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict’s recommended additions included the Saudi Arabia-led coalition in Yemen, which was taken off […]
(UN News Centre) – The battle late last year for control over Syria’s war-ravaged Aleppo was a stage of unrelenting violence, with civilians on both sides falling victim to war crimes committed by all parties, read a report issued today by the United Nations-mandated Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria. The report documents brutal tactics […]
(Geneva Call) – Geneva Call held a workshop with commanders of 8 brigades of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) to discuss the laws of armed conflict with a focus on the issues of child recruitment and protection of education in armed conflict. This meeting occurred between 15th and 17th of February in Geneva. The participants included senior commanders, and […]
(Radio Canada International) – Even as the focus of the Western media attention has shifted away from Syria, the situation remains very dire in many parts of the war-torn country and nearly six million Syrian children are in desperate need of assistance, say officials of the United Nations children’s agency. “After five years of war, of course, […]
