The UN children’s agency, UNICEF, said on Saturday that at least 12 children had been killed in northwestern Syria since Apr. 20, 2019, as a result of the Assad forces and Russia’s escalation in the demilitarized zone.
The Executive Director, Henrietta Fore, said in a statement: “More than 30,000 people have been forced to leave their homes and flee the violence during the month of April.”
She added: “Four health facilities are now reported to be out of service after recently being hit and destroyed, leaving thousands of people without access to life-saving medical support,” adding that schools are also reported to have been hit and damaged.
Fore said, “The fighting intensified over the past two days, causing our partners on the ground to halt programmes that provide safe water, adequate sanitation and hygiene to affected communities in northern Hama and southern Idleb. At least 5,500 people have been left with no water at all. Services can only resume once security conditions improve.”
The organization urged all parties to protect children at all times, saying that killing and maiming children was a grave violation of children’s rights, and that civilian infrastructure including health, water and education facilities, are not a target and must not come under attack.
Idleb and Hama have seen an intensified escalation by the Assad regime and Russia by way of heavy artillery and airstrikes, which have killed and wounded dozens and displaced thousands of civilians in recent days.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
