83 killed in 'war on children'

 

AMMAN/AFP: At least 83 children were killed in Middle East war zones in January, most of them in Syria, the UN children's agency UNICEF said, vowing their voices "will never be silenced". "They were killed in ongoing conflicts, suicide attacks or frozen to death as they fled active war zones," said UNICEF's regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, Geert Cappelaere. "In the month of January alone, escalating violence in Iraq, Libya, the State of Palestine, Syria and Yemen has claimed the lives of at least 83 children," Cappelaere added in a statement. Calling January a "dark (and) bloody month", Cappelaere said it was "unacceptable that children continue being killed and injured every single day".