Syria: Call terrorism supporters to account

Syria urges the international community to call to account countries that back terrorism and crimes against children in the Arab country.

On Thursday, Syria’s Foreign and Expatriates Ministry made the remarks in two identical letters addressed to the United Nations secretary-general and president of the UN Security Council.

“The Syrian Arab Republic would like to put you in the picture of the crimes committed by the armed terrorist groups against children,” the letters read.

The letters enumerated the attacks on the Syrian children and their schools in November.

”On November 11, 2013, four children and a bus driver were killed and four children and two superintendents injured after mortar rounds launched by terrorists hit a school bus outside a school in Bab Sharqi area in Damascus.

“On the same day, John of Damascus School in al-Qasaa neighborhood came under a similar mortar attack, with a mortar round slamming into the school, killing five children and wounding 35 others under the age of 10. On November 10, 2013, a father and his three sons were killed in a mortar attack on their car in Jaramana city in Damascus suburbs.

“On November 9, 2013, four children were killed and six citizens wounded when a mortar shell fell on al-Ashrafieh area in Aleppo. On November 6, 2013, a mortar round fell on an elementary school in al-Zahira al-Jadida area in Damascus, wounding four children under the age of 13. On November 3, 2013, a mortar round hit a school complex in al-Dweila’ neighborhood in Damascus.”

The letters also expressed concern over the adverse effects the attacks have had on Syrian children, saying, “In all these instances, the surviving children have suffered severe psychological traumas as they saw their schools sabotaged and their fellow students blood-stained; scenes that will leave their mark on them in the future.”

In September, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that nearly two million Syrian children were deprived of education due to the unrest in the country.

UNICEF spokeswoman Marixie Mercado noted that over 3,000 schools had been damaged or destroyed and nearly 900 had been utilized to house displaced families.

“The education system has taken a beating,” Mercado said, stressing that even “for the schools that are operating, there are not enough teachers, not enough classrooms, not enough resources.”

On November 2, UNICEF said over 400,000 Syrian refugee children in Lebanon are in urgent need of assistance from the international community ahead of a severe winter.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies — especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey — are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.

According to the UN, more than 100,000 people have been killed and millions displaced in the violence.