UN official urges all parties to protect children in Syria
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E-mail Xinhua, May 2, 2012
UN Special Representative for the Secretary-General for Children in Armed Conflict Radhika Coomaraswamy Tuesday said she is alarmed by the recent wave of violence in Syria that has claimed the lives of innocent children.
"She urged all parties to refrain from indiscriminate tactics resulting in the killing and wounding of children," UN spokesperson Eduardo del Buey told reporters here during the daily news briefing.
Reports show that 34 children have allegedly been killed despite the Syrian government and the opposition agreed a truce on April 12 and the establishment of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) by the Security Council a week later. UNSMIS is an observer mission made up of up to 300 unarmed military observers and deployed for an initial period of 90 days, to monitor the cessation of violence in Syria.
According to the spokesperson for Coomaraswamy, there have been recent reports that indicate two children died on Tuesday in a mortar attack. While on Monday, a series of suicide bombings were reported in Damascus and Idlib, which claimed the lives of children.
"She reminded us that it is the responsibility and humanitarian imperative of all parties to protect and prevent unnecessary suffering of girls and boys," said del Buey.
The violence in Syria, which erupted in March 2011, has claimed the lives of over 9,000 people, and displaced tens of thousands more.
