Syria’s Deputy FM Condemns Continued Crimes of Terrorists, US-Backed Militants
By Staff, Agencies
Terrorist organizations and militants of the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces [SDF], which is supported by the United States, continue to commit crimes in the Arab country, Syria’s Deputy Foreign Minister Bashar al-Jaafari said.
Al-Jaafari made the remarks during an informal session of the United Nations Security Council held via video conference at the initiative of Russia and Kazakhstan on Friday, Syria’s official news agency, SANA, reported.
During the session titled, “Children in Armed Conflict in Syria,” Jaafari noted that the mentioned groups kept committing crimes and violations against children, including killing, kidnapping, recruiting, and transferring of children to conflict areas in the countries of the region.
He added that those groups were also burning and destroying schools and hospitals and preventing children from receiving education.
Al-Jaafari, meanwhile, stressed that despite all the crimes and violations, Damascus exerts tremendous effort to protect and care for the children who are found in the areas liberated from the grips of terrorists or those minors reached to the state institutions.
He further described terrorism as one of the most dangerous threats that affect countries and communities, warning that when it spreads, the first affected and the most vulnerable ones would be children.
The veteran diplomat also warned that an extremely alarming impact of terrorism is recruiting children by terrorists and illegitimate entities and forcing them to take part in terrorist acts.
Last week, the UN Children's Agency said more than half of Syrian children in the war-ravaged country were missing out on education, as almost a third of schools have either fallen down or been commandeered by militant factions.
It estimated that there are more than 2.4 million children out of school inside the Arab country.
The new figures showed an alarming sharp rise from previous estimates when the UN agency said a third of Syrian schoolgoers were deprived of education.
