UNICEF denounces the death of at least six children due to “intense violence” in northwestern Syria

MADRID, Feb. 3 (Royals Blue) –

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has denounced this Thursday the death of at least six children during the night in the border city of Atmé, in northwestern Syria, as a result of “intense episodes of violence”, which They have also left a seriously injured girl.

According to information collected by UNICEF, the areas populated by civilians in that area have suffered “serious damage.” Additionally, many families in this area are internally displaced persons who have fled violence in other parts of the country over the years.

The United Nations agency has indicated that, since the beginning of the year, violence has intensified “strongly” in and around Idlib, where 1.2 million children in need of help live. Last year, nearly 70 per cent of recorded serious child rights violations in Syria occurred in the northwest.

UNICEF has lamented that this recent increase in violence comes amid extreme weather conditions and record sub-zero temperatures in Syria and the region. At least five Syrian children have died in northern Syria due to harsh winter conditions in the last two weeks alone.

The United States announced this Thursday the death of the leader of the Islamic State, Abu Ibrahim al Hashimi al Quraishi, during an operation carried out by US special forces in the Syrian province of Idlib (northwest).

For its part, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had indicated that thirteen people, including four children, had died in the framework of the operation in Idlib province and added that it was carried out between midnight and 3:30 a.m. ( local time).

The organization, based in London and informants in the Arab country, has highlighted that the United States has sent its special forces to the Atmé area, near the border with Turkey, and has added that “the death of thirteen people, including four children and three women, has been verified and confirmed”.