Children in Syria continue to suffer brutal impact of unexploded weapons: UN

Syrian children continue to bear the brutal brunt of unexploded ordnance (UXO) at an alarming rate, the UN Children’s Agency, UNICEF, said on Tuesday, highlighting that in just December, it received reports of 116 children killed or maimed by it – almost four a day, on average.

“In the past 9 years, at least 422,000 UXO incidents were reported in 14 Governorates around the country, with half of them estimated to have ended tragically in child casualties. Children in every corner of Syria are at risk of this creeping, but often unseen and deadly threat,” UNICEF Communication Manager, Ricardo Pires, said through a video link, at a UN press conference.

“During just the month of December last year, UNICEF documented 116 children killed or maimed from bombs that did not explode when they were supposed to, an average of almost four a day. This is believed to be an underestimate because of the fluidity of the humanitarian situation on the ground,” Pires said.

Renewed displacement only increases that risk, Pires said, noting that, since 27 November, 2024, over a quarter of a million children have been forced to flee their homes because of the escalating conflict.

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