Northern Syria: Surge in Violence Leaves 40 Children Killed or Injured this Month

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (Aug. 24, 2022)—At least two children were injured in an attack in Tal Rifat in northern Syria today, the latest casualties in an upsurge of violence which has killed at least 13 children and injured an additional 27 this month, says Save the Children.

In early August, two children were killed and at least five others injured in two separate attacks in Qamishli and Tal Rifat towns respectively, and on August 16, one child was killed in rural Kobane, all in northern Syria. On August 19, six children were killed in an attack on a marketplace in the town of Al Bab in North West Syria and on the same day, four girls were killed and 11 injured in a drone strike in North East Syria. On Monday, there were more than 10 airstrikes in Idlib, North West Syria, followed by the two children injured in the attack in Tal Rifat today.

Further military actions risk displacing thousands of children and their families, leaving them without shelter, food or safety, Save the Children said. The child rights organization is urging all parties to the conflict to de-escalate tensions and protect children and their families from further violence and displacement.

Beat Rohr, Save the Children’s Interim Response Director for Syria, said:

“Save the Children is appalled at this latest escalation in violence, which clearly shows that children in Syria are still not safe. Children should never have to worry about being attacked, whether at home, at a market, or when they go outside to play. And yet, that is precisely what children across northern Syria are facing—nearly 12 years after the beginning of the conflict.

“We urgently call on all parties to the conflict to de-escalate tensions and to take all possible steps to keep children safe from harm. No child should ever be in the firing line.”

Save the Children has been working in Syria since 2012, reaching over five million people, including more than three million children across the country. Save the Children’s programming combines emergency & life-saving interventions with early recovery activities that support the restoration of basic services, including child protection, education, emergency response, food security and livelihoods, water sanitation and hygiene, as well as health and nutrition.  

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