A new study released by the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, shows that the deteriorating crisis in the Central African Republic (CAR), five years into the latest civil conflict to hit the country, has left practically every child needing protection from armed groups, which now control four-fifths of the country’s territory.

It is unclear if rockets fired into the Syrian city of Aleppo last weekend contained chemical toxins, a senior humanitarian adviser to the UN said on Thursday, adding that if they did, it would constitute a war crime.

Amidst a $33 million funding shortfall, plunging temperatures in the Middle East and North Africa pose a major threat to children in the region, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.

As fighting in Yemen edges closer to the main healthcare practice in the port city of Hudaydah, the head of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) joined the world body’s humanitarian chief on Thursday to urge the warring parties not to target or occupy any civilian sites – including Al Thawrah Hospital.