Guterres: The Assad regime committed grave violations of children’s rights
In his annual report on children in areas of armed conflict over the past year, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres accused the Assad regime and armed groups in Syria of committing grave violations of children’s rights in 2020, including maiming and killing.
Guterres said “the United Nations verified 3,882 grave violations against 2,502 children,” adding that: The United Nations verified the recruitment and use of 813 children (777 boys and 36 girls), and the deprivation of 870 children’s liberty.
He also added: It has also verified more than 64,000 women and children suspected of being linked to the Islamic State, whose origins go back to 60 countries, and they are still being held in Al-Hol and Roj camps in northeastern Syria, at the end of 2020.
The UN report also stated, “Verifying the killings (512) and maiming (699) of 2,111 children, which were attributed to the Assad regime forces, militias supporting it, other armed parties, and unidentified perpetrators.”
The report indicated that the United Nations verified the occurrence of 90 attacks on schools as well as attacks on hospitals, and most of the attacks took place in Idlib by launching air raids and bombing, and those attacks were attributed to the Assad regime forces (77), unidentified perpetrators (7), and the forces of Democratic Syria (4), ISIS (1), and other armed actors (1).
