By Fatih Erel
GENEVA (AA) – Nearly 1,000 children were killed and at least 961 children were recruited and used in the conflict in Syria last year, the UN Children Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
“Last year, the UN verified 910 deaths among children compared with 652 in 2016. Disproportionate attacks in densely populated areas kill a growing proportion of children who now account for one quarter of civilian deaths, ” UNICEF spokeswoman Marixie Mercado said in a news conference in Geneva.
At least 961 children were recruited and used in the conflict in 2017, nearly triple the number in 2015, Mercado said.
“It is important to note that these are verified numbers. The true figures are certainly much higher, ” she added.
According to UNICEF, there are now 5.3 million children overall who are in need. Some 2.8 million are internally displaced, 2.6 million children refugees. Over 1.7 million children are out of school, and an additional 1.3 million are at risk of dropping out.
Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in early 2011 when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.
