A Unicef report gives the ominous bulletin: in the first 14 days of the year more than 30 children were killed in an escalation of violence in the eastern area of Ghouta, where it is estimated that 200.000 children have been trapped under siege since 2013. A Idlib, in the north-west of the country, there is talk of serious violence in recent weeks, as a result of which dozens of children and women have been killed and injured and about 100.000 civilians displaced. It is shameful that, after nearly seven years of conflict, a war against children continues as the world watches. Millions of children across Syria and neighboring countries have suffered the devastating consequences of continued levels of violence in different parts of the country.
UNICEF has received information from within the eastern Ghouta area: people are taking refuge underground fearing for their lives. A particularly violent attack on residential buildings appears to have been strong enough to injure 80 civilians, including children and women. Medical personnel had to work hard to extract the survivors from the rubble. Two medical facilities have been attacked in recent days east of Ghouta, and most of the health centers have had to close due to the violence. In some areas, mobile emergency clinics are the only way for families to receive medical assistance and treatment. In Idlib, the Ma'arrat An Nu'man maternal and child hospital was attacked three times, rendering it inoperative, and at least one patient and two doctors were killed.
Schools have reportedly been closed in and around East Ghouta at a time when children from other Syrian countries are in mid-term exams. While we saw a small glimmer of hope at the end of last year with the evacuation of 17 children in need of urgent medical care, the escalating violence in and around East Ghouta has turned hope into despair for the remaining 120. children who continue to suffer in silence waiting for an urgent medical evacuation.
We must be able to reach children in need of humanitarian assistance, urgently and without restrictions, wherever they are in Syria. The various parties involved in the conflict can make this happen by immediately allowing aid workers to reach them with life-saving assistance. UNICEF will continue to provide humanitarian assistance essential for the survival and mental well-being of children across Syria. For the most vulnerable children in besieged and hard-to-reach areas, we can and must do more.