The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) has said that the number of Syrian children who require help because of the on-going crisis in their country has more than doubled in the last 12 months to 5.5 million.
According to a new Unicef report, nearly a million children are currently living in areas laid under siege by the Syrian government, and that the number of those displaced by the war has risen to some 3 million in the past year alone.
“Child casualty rates are the highest recorded in any recent conflict in the region: while death and injury rates are difficult to measure,” the report added, with conservative estimated putting the child death toll at “at least 10,000 … The real number is likely to be even higher.”
It paints a sordid picture of life for Syria’s children, given that Unicef has emphasised the Middle Eastern country “is now one of the most dangerous places on earth to be a child”.
Although Unicef has appealed the Syrian government, rebels and the international community to support its No Lost Generation strategy and ensure that 2014 becomes the last year of suffering for Syrian children, it does not seem that the crisis will end any time soon.
But that should not make us complacent, and Metro Éireann urges all who care about our future generations to support Unicef in its efforts to save the children of Syria from further harm.
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