Syria children could be scarred for life
2013-03-12 20:12
New York - The war in Syria - from the destruction of
infrastructure to massive population displacement - may leave an entire
generation of children scarred "for life”, the UN Children's Fund (Unicef)
warned on Tuesday.
"As millions of children inside Syria and across the
region witness their past and their futures disappear amid the rubble and
destruction of this prolonged conflict, the risk of them becoming a lost
generation grows every day," said Unicef Executive Director Anthony Lake as
the agency issued a report on the topic.
Unicef said children suffered increased skin and
respiratory diseases in areas where the worst fighting took place.
They had also seen their access to water cut by
two-thirds.
The report said one in five schools has been destroyed or
used to shelter displaced families. It said that, in Aleppo, only 6% of
children are able to attend school.
It said fighting had wrecked hospitals and health
centres, while skilled staff had fled. The children are also traumatized
because they have seen parents and friends killed in the war.
"We urge all parties to allow unhindered access to
children affected by the violence - wherever they are," Lake said.
"We can only meet the growing needs of this crisis
if we get the help we need today."
In Iraq, police revealed that a group of wounded Syrian
soldiers were being treated in a hospital in the northern city of Mosul.
Iraqi news site Alsumaria News quoted police as saying
that seven soldiers had been brought to the hospital on Sunday after clashes
with rebels near the border between the two countries.
Last week, more than 40 Syrian and Iraqi soldiers were
killed on Iraqi territory in an attack later claimed by an Iraqi affiliate of
al-Qaeda.
That group of Syrian soldiers were reportedly being
escorted back to the border after receiving medical treatment in Iraq.
On the diplomatic front, Israeli President Shimon Peres
told the European Parliament that "a way must be found to prevent [Syrian]
chemical weapons from falling into the wrong hands."
"The best option to put an end to the Syrian tragedy
might be achieved by empowering the Arab League... to intervene," Peres
told a plenary meeting of the parliament in Strasbourg.
He suggested that "the Arab League can and should
form a provisional government in Syria to stop the massacre, to prevent Syria
from falling to pieces”.
- SAPA
