Unicef: 400 children killed, 400 others detained in Syria violence
The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) said some 400 children have been killed while about the same number have been detained in the 11 months of violence in Syria, which the Philippine government has placed under alert level 3.
Unicef spokeswoman Marixie Mercado said the figures for children killed came from Syrian human rights groups that the group finds to be credible.
In a statement, Unicef said: "There are reports of children arbitrarily arrested, tortured and sexually abused while in detention."
Unicef executive director Anthony Lake called for an end to the killing of children in Syria. He said: "Even one child killed in the violence is one child too many."
Extraction strategy
Unicef executive director Anthony Lake called for an end to the killing of children in Syria. He said: "Even one child killed in the violence is one child too many."
Extraction strategy
Meanwhile, anticipating the violence in Syria to escalate further, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday said it may be forced to adopt an "extraction strategy" to rescue Filipinos in the troubled country.
DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez quoted Secretary Albert del Rosario as saying, "Based on new developments in Homs [a major city in Syria], we may need to go one step further and resort to a strategy of extraction. For this, we will activiate our rapid response team composed of Philippine National Police and DFA personnel."
Del Rosario did not elaborate on how the "extraction strategy" will be done.
Alert level 3
Earlier, the DFA raised the alert in Syria to level "3" – which entails the mandatory repatriation of Filipinos there.
"From our visit to Damascus two week ago, we had anticipated a probable escalation of violence which resulted in our bringing in an additional team of negotiators to focus on mandatory repatriation," Del Rosario said.
Attacks by government forces on militants spread to major cities in the country, including Homs.
As of January 28 this year, at least 193 people – mostly civilians – have been killed in Syrian violence nationwide, according to figures provided by official sources and human rights activists. - VVP, GMA News
DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez quoted Secretary Albert del Rosario as saying, "Based on new developments in Homs [a major city in Syria], we may need to go one step further and resort to a strategy of extraction. For this, we will activiate our rapid response team composed of Philippine National Police and DFA personnel."
Del Rosario did not elaborate on how the "extraction strategy" will be done.
Alert level 3
Earlier, the DFA raised the alert in Syria to level "3" – which entails the mandatory repatriation of Filipinos there.
"From our visit to Damascus two week ago, we had anticipated a probable escalation of violence which resulted in our bringing in an additional team of negotiators to focus on mandatory repatriation," Del Rosario said.
Attacks by government forces on militants spread to major cities in the country, including Homs.
As of January 28 this year, at least 193 people – mostly civilians – have been killed in Syrian violence nationwide, according to figures provided by official sources and human rights activists. - VVP, GMA News
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