Ten thousand children trapped in Raqqa, says UN
Ten thousand children trapped in Raqqa, says UN
The UN says that there are 10,000 children trapped in Raqqa living without fresh water, electricity and little food.
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Half of those trapped in Raqqa are children [Getty]
Half of the estimated 20,000 people trapped in Syria's northern city of Raqqa are children, an official with the UN children's agency said on Friday.
The trauma of the war on Raqqa is "absolutely staggering" for those who managed to escape the Islamic State group-held city.
Fran Equiza spoke to AP in Damascus following a visit to three camps in northern Syria where he met displaced children from Raqqa and Deir az-Zor, both held by IS.
"I was completely overwhelmed," he said. "There are 10,000 children trapped in Raqqa in extremely dire conditions. No electricity, no water, probably very little food... and the battle almost every day.”
US-backed Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters are bearing down on Raqqa - IS' self-declared capital - from all sides and as the fighting intensifies.
Thousands of civilians are finding it increasingly hard to escape the city, which is facing constant shelling by the US-led coalition and allied Syrian Democratic Forces. IS militants have placed mines around the city.
"The level of suffering, losing friends, relatives, family of these children is absolutely staggering," he added.
Equiza appealed to all sides to allow for safe passage and respect civilians, "especially the children (who) have no responsibility whatsoever".
He warned that the situation is at risk of worsening, as more people flee from the IS-held eastern province of Deir az-Zor, where the Syrian regime military and allied militiamen are on the offensive against IS.
"We need support in order to be able to provide these children the rights they are entitled," Equiza said.
Syria's war began when the regime crushed peaceful protests demanding democratic reforms during the Arab Spring wave of uprisings.
It triggered an armed rebellion fuelled by mass defections from the Syrian army.
According to independent monitors, hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed in the war, mostly by the regime and its powerful allies, and millions have been displaced both inside and outside of Syria.
The brutal tactics pursued mainly by the regime, which have included the use of chemical weapons, sieges, mass executions and torture against civilians have led to war crimes investigations.
Raqqa was seized by IS during a campaign against rebels in eastern Syria in early 2014.
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