Worst year for Syrian children

A new report from the United Nations child relief agency (Unicef) has said that last year saw the highest recorded levels of grave violations against Syria's children since the outbreak of war in 2011.

At least 652 children were killed in 2016, but since Unicef only records verified deaths, the true figure is likely to be much higher, the agency said yesterday. In addition, at least 850 children were recruited by armed factions to fight.

The number of recorded deaths in 2016 is 20 per cent higher than 2015, and nearly three times as many children were forced to take part in the conflict in 2016 than in the previous year, marking a dramatic increase in the dangers faced by what has been dubbed Syria's 'lost generation.'

Children as young as seven have been forced to fight on the frontline or as suicide bombers and executioners by several rebel groups with links to al-Qaeda, as well as Islamic state.

During 2016 the Syrian government with the help of Russian warplanes also continued to bomb civilian infrastructure such as schools and hospitals. At least 255 children were killed in or near schools, including a deadly attack in Idlib in October that killed at least 26 people.

The report said both sides showed a “callous disregard” for children's lives.

The situation for those not caught up in the front lines is still dire: in Syria at least 1.7 million children are out of school, where one in three schools are unusable. There are at least 2.3 million refugee Syrian children elsewhere in the Middle East, with around two thirds of that number forced to work at least part time to support their families.

“I don't know how to read or write – I only know how to draw the sky, the sea and the sun,” four-year-old Fares, a Syrian child living in Lebanon, is quoted as saying in the report.

“I've waited tables, I've served beans, corn, hummus, hookah pipe, potatoes and seeds. I've cleaned the shop and served ice cream to children. I don't know how to fill the cone but I help [the others] do it. I want to leave my house. It's like a prison.”

The report also warns that coping mechanisms and medical care are eroding quickly in Syria, driving more children into child labour, early marriage and combat roles. Dozens are also dying from preventable diseases and hunger or stepping on landmines or cluster munitions while playing.

“The situation for Syrian children has hit rock bottom,” Juliette Touma, Unicef's regional spokesperson, said in a statement.

“The past year has been the worst since the crisis began, with children pushed right to the brink - being recruited at an ever younger age, being used to man checkpoints, being trained to use weapons, serving as prison guards. We also have reports of sexual abuse of girls by underage children, so it's very grim.”

Last week, British charity Save the Children published a report which stressed that Syria's children were suffering from "toxic stress" brought on by the sheer brutality of the ongoing civil war.

At least three million Syrians under the age of six "know nothing but war," said Save the Children, adding that prolonged exposure could lead to a number of problems, including self-harm and suicide attempts.

In the report, one father named Firas recounted how his 3-year-old, Saeed, had been affected.

"My son wakes up afraid in the middle of the night," he said.

"A child was slaughtered in front of him, so he started to dream that someone is coming to slaughter him. When a child witnesses a beheading, how could he not get afraid?"

Since the war began in 2011, an estimated 400,000 Syrians have been killed in what the United Nations is calling the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II.

All diplomatic efforts to bring lasting peace to the crisis have failed. Further talks are scheduled in the next few weeks in both Switzerland and Kazakhstan.