UNICEF Chief Stresses End to Attacks on Children

The UNICEF executive director Tuesday voiced her deep concern over attacks on children in conflict zones the first four months of the current year.
From the Central African Republic to South Sudan, and from Syria to Afghanistan, attacks on children in conflict had continued unabated, Henrietta H. Fore said.
In a statement, she said, “With little remorse and even less accountability, parties to conflict continue to blatantly disregard one of the most basic rules in war: the protection of children.”
Indiscriminate attacks on schools, hospitals and other civilian infrastructure, abductions, child recruitment, abuse in detention and denial of humanitarian assistance were common, she noted.
In Afghanistan, she added, more than 150 children were reported killed and over 400 injured during the first three months of the year because of the conflict.