More than 6.5 million children in Syria are in need of humanitarian assistance, the United Nations (UN) warned on Sunday May 8, a level not reached since the start of the conflict in 2011.
“Millions of children still live in fear, uncertainty and need in Syria and neighboring countries”, said in a press release the regional director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for the Middle East and North Africa, Adele Khodr. Moreover, “nearly 5.8 million children depend on [aussi] help “ in the neighboring countries of Syria, “severely tested by political instability and fragility”.
“This is the highest figure recorded since the start of the conflict more than eleven years ago”said M.me Khodr. “Many families are struggling to make ends meet”added the UN official. “Prices of essentials, including food, are skyrocketing, partly because of the crisis in Ukraine. »
Thirteen thousand children killed or injured since 2011
UNICEF also deplores the decline in international funding, claiming to have received “less than half of the funds needed this year”. The organization claims to have “an urgent need of 20 million dollars [un peu moins de 19 millions d’euros] for its cross-border operations, the only means of survival for almost a million children in northwestern Syria”a rebel-held region.
Humanitarian aid reaching this region mainly passes through the border between Turkey and Syria under special UN authorization which makes it possible to avoid any authorization from the regime of Bashar Al-Assad.
“The crisis in Syria is far from over”also recalled Unicef, which states that 13,000 children have been killed or injured since 2011, including 213 “during the first three months” by 2022. About half a million people have died since the start of the conflict in Syria in 2011, causing the largest displacement of people since the second world war. According to an estimate by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in March 2021, more than 6.6 million Syrians were refugees worldwide. Among them, 5.6 million were hosted in neighboring countries of Syria. Also, 6.7 million are still displaced in the country, including about 2.5 million children.
