There seems to be no end in sight to Syria’s long-running civil war. After the rout of the Islamic State, the Bashar al-Assad regime has been attacking rebel-held towns. Starting Monday, pro-government forces carried out repeated raids on Eastern Ghouta, a suburb of the capital Damascus. Human rights organisations said more than 400 people were killed and the toll could mount. The UNICEF issued a blank “statement” on Tuesday to express its outrage at the deaths of so many children.
A wounded Syrian girl receives treatment at a make-shift hospital in Kafr Batna following Syrian government bombardments on the besieged Eastern Ghouta region on the outskirts of the capital Damascus on February 21, 2018. Syrian jets carried out more deadly raids on Eastern Ghouta as Western powers and aid agencies voiced alarm over the mounting death toll and spiralling humanitarian catastrophe.
“No words will do justice to the children killed, their mothers, their fathers and their loved ones,” the release from UNICEF’s regional director Geert Cappalaere began. There followed 10 empty lines with quote marks indicating missing text, and an explanatory footnote. “UNICEF is issuing this blank statement. We no longer have the words to describe children’s suffering and our outrage,” it said. Pictures show wounded Syrian children at makeshift hospitals in the besieged enclave.
