World fails to stop war on children: UNICEF
United Nations: The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) has said violence had a devastating toll on children, who were being killed in ongoing conflicts or suicide attacks, or freezing to death as they fled active war zones.
Describing January as "a dark month" in crisis-torn Middle East and North Africa, Geert Cappelaere, Unicef Director for the region on Monday said that "it is simply unacceptable that children continue being killed and injured every single day", Xinhua reported.
In the month of January alone, escalating violence in Iraq, Libya, the Palestine, Syria and Yemen has claimed the lives of at least 83 children.
"These children have paid the highest price for wars that they have absolutely no responsibility for. Their lives have been cut short, their families forever broken in grief," he added.
Cappelaere said that as the Syrian conflict enters its eighth year, intensifying fighting has reportedly killed 59 children in the past four weeks. Moreover, across Yemen the UN has verified the killing of 16 children in attacks and continues to receive daily reports of more killed and injured children amidst escalating fighting.
Additionally, a suicide attack took the lives of three children in Libya's Benghazi while three others died playing near unexploded ordnance, a fourth child remains in critical condition after the blast.
Turning to the old city of Mosul in Iraq, a child was killed in a booby-trapped house, and in Palestine, a boy was shot dead in a village near Ramallah.
Furthermore, 16 refugees, including four children, froze to death in a harsh winter storm in Lebanon, fleeing the war in Syria, where many more children were hospitalized with frost bite.
"We collectively continue failing to stop the war on children," Cappelaere noted.
He added that that "not hundreds, not thousands but millions more children in the Middle East and North Africa region have their childhoods stolen, maimed for life, traumatized, arrested and detained, exploited, prevented from going to school and from getting the most essential health services; denied even the basic righ
t to play."
Cappelaere maintained that "we have no justification, no reason to accept this as a new normal."
"Children may have been silenced. But their voices will continue to be heard. Their message is our message: The protection of children is paramount under all circumstances, in line with the law of war," he argued.
"Breaching that law is a most heinous crime and jeopardizes the future, and not just for children," concluded the Unicef regional director.
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Five killed as moving bus catches fire in Lucknow
Lucknow (PTI): Five passengers, including two children, were killed when a private bus caught fire in the Mohanlalganj area here early Thursday, police said.
They said the incident occurred around 5 am on Kisan Path, a major roadway on the outskirts of Lucknow.
According to sources, the bus was carrying 80 passengers.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Mohanlalganj) Rajneesh Verma said the bus was en route to Delhi from Begusarai in Bihar when it suddenly caught fire.
"Initial investigation suggests that the fire may have started due to a short circuit in the bus' gearbox," Verma told PTI.
Most of the passengers were asleep when the fire started. It spread rapidly and five passengers -- two women, two children and a man -- died as they were unable to get out in time. Several other passengers sustained injuries and have been taken to a hospital for treatment, police said.
Police identified the deceased as Lakkhi Devi (55), Soni Mahto (26), Devraj (3), Sakshi (2) and Madhusudan (21).
According to eyewitnesses, the bus did not come to a halt immediately after the fire broke out. The flames were visible from almost a kilometre away.
Firefighters reached the spot promptly and managed to control the blaze within half an hour. The bus was gutted with only its metal frame remaining.
Police found that the emergency exit of the bus did not open, trapping passengers sitting in the rear section.
According to authorities, a probe to determine the exact cause of the fire is underway.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath condoled the loss of lives in the incident.
"The chief minister has instructed the district administration officials to reach the spot and expedite the relief work and immediately take the injured to the hospital for proper treatment. He also wished for the speedy recovery of the injured," the Chief Minister's Office said in a post on X.
