83 CHILDREN KILLED LAST MONTH IN MIDEAST

UNICEF REPORT: At least 83 children were killed in Middle East war zones in January most of them in Syria, the UN children's agency UNICEF  said on Monday-

Vowing their voices ''will never be silenced''.

''They were killed in on-going  conflicts, suicide attacks or frozen to death as they fled active war zones,'' said UNICEF's regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, Geert Cappelaers.

''In the month of January alone, escalating violence in Iraq, Libya, the State of Palestine, Syria and Yemen has claimed the lives of at least  83 children,'' Cappelaere added in a statement.

Calling January  a  ''dark and bloody month, Cappelaere said it was  ''unacceptable that children continue being killed and injured every single day.''

''Children may have been silenced but their voices will continue to be heard......their voices will never be silenced,'' he said.

''We collectively continue failing to stop the war on children! We have no justification. We have no reason to accept a new normal."

[AFP]