UNICEF renews call for protection of children after kindergarten hit in deadly Damascus attack

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that a kindergarten in Harasta, Rural Damascus, was reportedly hit in an attack yesterday, killing at least four children and injuring many others.

In a statement issued yesterday, Hanaa Singer, UNICEF representative in Syria, said: “This attack is the most recent in a wave of attacks on schools and education facilities in Syria.”

“In the last two weeks of October, UNICEF was able to verify five attacks on schools killing more than 30 children,” she added.

In a separate attack near Harasta, a few kilometres from the capital of Damascus, a hospital was reportedly struck, killing one person and injuring many more.

“UNICEF renews yet again its call for all parties to the conflict in Syria and those who have influence over them to make the protection of children paramount and to meet their obligations under international humanitarian law,” stressed the UNICEF representative.

“Attacks on all civilian infrastructure including schools, kindergartens, playgrounds, education and health facilities must stop immediately,” she concluded.