UNICEF says 30 children killed in Syrian protests

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The United Nation’s children’s agency has said it has reports that 30 children have been shot dead by gunfire in the clampdown on Syria’s opposition protests over the last number of months.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has also raised concerns about children who have been detained and tortured.

Syrian state media had said earlier that an inquiry would be carried out into the death of a 13-year-old boy who was allegedly tortured by Syrian security forces.

The 13-year-old Syrian boy was allegedly tortured and killed by security forces in the flashpoint Daraa region.

Meanwhile, three civilians were shot dead today by Syrian security forces at Rastan in the centre of the country and in the southern region of Daraa.

Earlier, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad issued a general amnesty after ten weeks of protests against his 11-year rule and a military crackdown which has drawn international condemnation.

The amnesty covers ‘all members of political movements, including the Muslim Brotherhood’.

Membership of the Brotherhood, which led an armed uprising against Assad’s father in 1982, is punishable by death in Syria.

Assad’s move was the latest in a series of reforms — including lifting a 48-year state of emergency and granting citizenship to stateless Kurds in eastern Syria — aimed at addressing grievances of protesters.

But those steps have been accompanied by a ruthless military crackdown in which rights campaigners say 1,000 civilians have been killed and more than 10,000 people arrested.

Syria blames the violence on armed groups, Islamists and foreign agitators, saying more than 120 police and soldiers have been killed in the unrest nationwide.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is not engaging seriously in reform and the position of his government is becoming ‘less tenable’ every day.

Elsewhere, Syria’s exiled opposition met to close ranks and forge a plan for a democratic Syria, in the first official gathering of activists since an uprising against Baathist rule erupted 10 weeks ago.

The conference in the Turkish coastal city of Antalya, brings together a broad spectrum of opposition figures driven abroad over the last three decades, from Islamists crushed in the 1980s to Christians escaping repression.

RTE

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4 responses to “UNICEF says 30 children killed in Syrian protests”

  1. 316909 Avatar

    Bashar just declared a general amnesty for all political prisoners before may-31-11 . I wonder if the 30 children killed and 1100 adults killed are included in that amnesty  or are they still guilty? I wonder if the parents of Hamza Al Khateeb will be included in it and if the gag order they placed on them will also be lifted. This shows how weak the regime has become and how threatened they are by the meeting Turkey is hosting for the opposition to declare a government in exile basically. Now that the opposition declared they are willing to fight back and the international community has turned against the regime they have decided to play nice. Too bad no one really trusts you. Since you lifted the emergency law  around 600 people have been killed. So we all know releasing these people from prison will only add to the revolt and basically your thugs will just go kill them later on. DECLARE ELECTIONS IN 90 DAYS AND ALLOW THE U.N TO MONITOR THE ELECTIONS AND YOU MAY HAVE A CHANCE ANYTHING ELSE IS NOT EVEN BUYING TIME ANY MORE.

    1. 316909 Avatar

      I found an article on cnn about the general Amnesty. basically its all bs. Execution orders have been reduced to life in prison hard labor and life sentences are reduced to 20yr hard labor sentences. The weird thing is that these reductions are listed on the general amnesty order witch contradicts the meaning of a general amnesty ( forgive without punishment of any kind ) I guess Syria is so bad at human rights they dont even know what a general amnesty is. Or bashar feels throwing people in prison to work until they die is forgiving them. Im sure most people would rather die than spend life or 20years in your prison… This is why people cant trust the regime in Syria.

  2.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    Bashar just declared a general amnesty for all political prisoners before may-31-11 . I wonder if the 30 children killed and 1100 adults killed are included in that amnesty  or are they still guilty? I wonder if the parents of Hamza Al Khateeb will be included in it and if the gag order they placed on them will also be lifted. This shows how weak the regime has become and how threatened they are by the meeting Turkey is hosting for the opposition to declare a government in exile basically. Now that the opposition declared they are willing to fight back and the international community has turned against the regime they have decided to play nice. Too bad no one really trusts you. Since you lifted the emergency law  around 600 people have been killed. So we all know releasing these people from prison will only add to the revolt and basically your thugs will just go kill them later on. DECLARE ELECTIONS IN 90 DAYS AND ALLOW THE U.N TO MONITOR THE ELECTIONS AND YOU MAY HAVE A CHANCE ANYTHING ELSE IS NOT EVEN BUYING TIME ANY MORE.

    1.  Avatar
      Anonymous

      I found an article on cnn about the general Amnesty. basically its all bs. Execution orders have been reduced to life in prison hard labor and life sentences are reduced to 20yr hard labor sentences. The weird thing is that these reductions are listed on the general amnesty order witch contradicts the meaning of a general amnesty ( forgive without punishment of any kind ) I guess Syria is so bad at human rights they dont even know what a general amnesty is. Or bashar feels throwing people in prison to work until they die is forgiving them. Im sure most people would rather die than spend life or 20years in your prison… This is why people cant trust the regime in Syria.

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