More than 5 million children in Iraq need urgent humanitarian assistance as intensified fighting between government forces and Islamic State jihadists continued, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said Thursday.
The UN agency appealed for an immediate end to the ongoing violence in Iraq, saying that all warring parties owe it to the children of Iraq to put an end to the conflict.
The UNICEF also released a report saying 1,075 children have been killed and more than 1,100 children have been maimed and injured in the country since 2014.
The UNICEF report noted that nearly 5,000 children have become separated from their families, and there have been nearly 140 attacks on schools and nearly 60 attacks on hospitals.
Peter Hawkins, UNICEF’s representative in Iraq, said that across the country, children continue to witness sheer horror and unimaginable violence.
He said that they have been killed, injured, abducted and forced to shoot and kill in one of the most brutal wars in recent history. (PNA/Xinhua)
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