UNICEF: Five Million Iraqi Children Need Urgent Assistance

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has described the critical conditions for children in Iraq, announcing that since 2014 and the escalation of violence in the country, over a thousand Iraqi children have been killed. The UNICEF report, published on Thursday, July 1, warns that Iraqi children are trapped in a cycle of endless violence and increasing poverty, with five million children in the country now needing urgent help. The report states that in the past three years, 1,075 Iraqi children have been killed, with 152 of those occurring in the last six months. The violence during this period has also led to over 4,650 Iraqi children being separated from their families. Part of the UNICEF report refers to the educational conditions of Iraqi children, stating that approximately 1.2 million children have dropped out of school, and over three million attend school irregularly. This report is accompanied by statements from Peter Hawkins, UNICEF's representative in Iraq, who described the war in Iraq as one of the 'most brutal' wars in modern history. Mr. Hawkins highlighted the violence in the western areas of Mosul, which are still under the control of ISIS militants, detailing the dire conditions for children there who have been taken hostage. According to him, children are deliberately targeted and killed to punish families attempting to escape the violence, with 23 children killed and 123 injured in western Mosul in less than two months. Following attacks by the Iraqi army, supported by the United States, ISIS militants have lost many of the cities and villages they had captured. They are on the brink of total defeat in Mosul, a city in northern Iraq that ISIS had declared as its center of governance.