Three children killed and 15 injured in fire at Syrian refugee camp, Unicef says
- ‘There are more than 22,000 foreign children of at least 60 nationalities who languish in camps and prisons,’ Unicef director said
- Unicef called on authorities in the north-east of Syria and member states to do everything possible to repatriate children
Three children were killed and 15 more were injured after a fire broke out at the al-Hol camp in north-eastern Syria, Unicef said on Sunday.
The UN Children’s Fund called for the safe reintegration and repatriation of all children in al-Hol Camp and across northeast of Syria, in a statement.
“There are more than 22,000 foreign children of at least 60 nationalities who languish in camps and prisons, in addition to many thousands of Syrian children,” said Unicef Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Ted Chaiban.
He noted that children in al-Hol were faced not only with the stigma they live with but also with very difficult living conditions where basic service were scarce or unavailable.
“The detention of children is a measure of last resort and should be for the shortest time possible. Children should not be detained based solely on suspected family ties with armed groups or the membership of family members in armed groups,” he said.
Chaiban called on the authorities in the north-east of Syria and member states to do everything possible to bring children back home and repatriate foreign children back to their countries of origin.