The UN children’s agency warned that military escalation on Idlib would threaten the lives of some 350,000 children as the Assad regime launched fierce airstrikes in the province on Friday, killing eight people.
In a statement on Thursday, UNICEF warned that around 350,000 children would find no place to go if violence escalates in the province of Idlib. For the children of Syria everywhere, UNICEF calls for prioritizing children and their needs and placing children above all political, military and strategic gains and agendas, it said.
The agency said that there are more than one million children in Idlib who are exhausted of war and fearful of uncertainty, violence and further displacement.
“Many children were forced to flee, some up to seven times. Most now live in overcrowded camps and shelters in rural areas. Food, water and medicine are in extremely short supply. Any further escalation in violence will have catastrophic consequences on the province which is host to one of the largest communities of internally displaced people in Syria.”
Children in Syria told UNICEF they’ve had enough. “The children of Syria cannot and should not endure another wave of violence, nor another fierce battle and certainly not more killing,” said Geert Cappelaere, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
According to the United Nations estimates, the province of Idlib is home to more than four million civilians after hundreds of thousands of people have been forcibly displaced to the province by the Assad regime.
Dozens of violent airstrikes hit several villages and towns in rural Idlib, Hama and Aleppo on Friday, leading to a new wave of displacement and the suspension of work in many educational and medical institutions for fear of further bombardment. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
