At least 17 children killed in wave of violence across Syria
AMMAN, 10 October - At least 17 children are reported to have been killed, and hundreds of others injured, in five days of violence across Syria[1], said Save the Children.
Schools across Northwest Syria have been closed indefinitely, with at least ten schools either partially or fully damaged in the fighting. An estimated 25,000 people have been newly displaced, with families and children once again being forced to flee their homes in fear.
In Northeast Syria, a series of at least 56 drone strikes over recent days has crippled water and electricity supplies for hundreds of thousands of people, and left children deeply afraid. Several parents told Save the Children staff their children were showing signs of deep emotional distress after the attacks.
Farida*, a 32-year-old mother of three children living in Tarbaspi city, Northeast Syria, told Save the Children; "My children are really scared. They can't sleep at night and have started wetting the bed...My children are terrified at night, and today I didn't send them to school. We're scared that we might have to leave our home, especially with winter coming. I'm just a mum, trying my best to keep my children safe and warm."
While hostilities have reportedly reduced over the last 24 hours, Save the Children is warning that continued conflict will only continue to risk children's lives and wellbeing, with widespread school closures threatening the education and futures of thousands of children.
Rasha Muhrez, Save the Children's Syria Response Director said:
"Children continue to pay the heaviest price in this conflict. Reports of children being killed and injured across Syria are unacceptable. To continue enduring violence and loss of loved ones, will have a lasting impact on their mental health and well-being. These children have been born and have grown up on the shadow of more than 12 years of conflict and crises, survived devastating earthquakes earlier this year and now, once again, live in fear. Their futures are again under threat.
Conflict is never a story with a happy ending. These hostilities need to end so that Syrian children can finally have the chance to live and thrive in peace."
Save the Children has been providing assistance to the children in need in Syria since 2012. Save the Children programming combines emergency and life-saving interventions with early recovery activities that support the restoration of basic services and aims to reach every last child in need.
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Notes
*Name changed to protect identity. Farida is a beneficiary of Save the Children's nutrition program in Tarbaspi city.
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