UNICEF denounces child killings in Syria
Syrian forces and rebels are locked in intense battle for control of Aleppo military bases.
BEIRUT: The United Nations Fund for Children on Saturday denounced violence over the past week in Syria in which dozens of children were killed.
"A series of reports from Syria this week underlines the terrible price children are paying" in a conflict that has ravaged the country for 22 months and left more than 60,000 people dead, according to UN figures.
"Media reports today (Friday) from the scene of mass killings in the village of Hasawiya outside Homs said whole families were among the dead in horrific circumstances," said Maria Calivis, UNICEF regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.
"UNICEF condemns these latest incidents in the strongest terms, and once again calls on all parties to ensure civilians -- and children especially -- are spared the effects of the conflict."
Every day this week, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported children killed. It said Monday was a particularly bloody day, with 31 child victims across the country.
On Tuesday, the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and rebels traded accusations over responsibility for twin blasts at Aleppo University which left 87 fatalities, including many students, the Britain-based watchdog reported.
The same day, around 100 civilians, including women and children, were killed in army operations in the country s central Homs province.
On Thursday, at least seven girls were killed by an air strike in southern Damascus.
Meanwhile, Syrian troops fought intense battles on Saturday against rebels who are trying to capture two military bases in the northwest and step up their attacks on army compounds elsewhere in the nation torn by civil war, activists said.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees said the rebels destroyed at least one tank near the town of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib province. The rebels, who have been battling for weeks to take control of bases in Wadi Deif and Hamdiyeh, are working to cut off supply routes to the compounds, the Observatory said.
Attacks on government bases are a recent focus of fighting in Syria s conflict, which according to the U.N. has killed more than 60,000 people since March 2011.
Last week, rebels captured the nearby air base of Taftanaz, dealing a significant blow to President Bashar Assad s forces, which have relied on its airpower in its fight against the opposition.
The rebels also have been trying to capture other air bases in the northern province of Aleppo, and according to activists, were attacking the air base of Mannagh near the Turkish border.
