Freedom graffiti in Damascus, Syria [Photo by FreedomHouse2]
The civil war in Syria is worsening by the day. To date, all U.N. efforts for peace have been ignored by the government of President Bashar al-Assad. “More than 21,000 people, mostly civilians, were thought to have died and tens of thousands of others had been arrested. By September 2012, 234,000 Syrian refugees had registered in neighboring countries “” about half of whom left during August, while tens of thousands more have not registered. In addition, about 2.5 million Syrians needed aid inside the country, with more than 1.2 million displaced domestically, according to the United Nations” (The New York Times).
April 12, 2012: In a government hospital in Tripoli, a medical glove painted as a Syrian opposition flag is pictured near the bed of a Syrian activist who sustained injuries during shelling in the Homs area of northern Syria. [Photo by FreedomHouse]
Aid group Save the Children is warning about the effects of the conflict in Syria on the nation’s children, saying they have been the target of attacks and witnessed the deaths of family members.
The head of the organization says “horrific acts of violence” are being committed against Syrian children, and that they need special care to help them recover. The group is also calling on the United Nations to better document rights violations against children.
U.N.-Arab League envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi painted a bleak picture of the crisis Monday, telling reporters after briefing the U.N. Security Council that “the situation in Syria is very bad and getting worse” (Voice of America)
April 1, 2012: Syrian boys help fill bags of food aid in a secret house in a neighborhood of Damascus. [Photo by FreedomHouse]
Aida, 32, reacts as she recovers from severe injuries. She has lost her husband and two children after the Syrian Army shelled her house in Idlib. [Photo by FreedomHouse2]
Sunday, March 11, 2012: Syrian rebels take position during clashes with government forces in Idlib. [Photo by FreedomHouse2]
April 1, 2012: A Syrian woman sits in front of her home as Syrian Army fighters stand guard during a break in fighting in a neighborhood of Damascus. [Photo by FreedomHouse]
April 12, 2012: Hasna’a Hajj, a Syrian woman whose legs were amputated after sustaining injuries from shelling in the Hamediyeh of Homs area in northern of Syria last month, lies in a government hospital in Tripoli, in northern Lebanon. [Photo by FreedomHouse]
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