News…
The unwitting victims of war are the children, often caught in the crossfire and used a pawns, however the risks effects of war linger on for children. The war never ends the day the news cameras quit rolling and the troops pull out. The images of war remain forever etched in a child’s mind, shaping their future and molding the roles they will take to lead the next generation. However it is not just the mental scares that linger and haunt children, it is the continued threat of looming violence and fear of the unseen killers that line the streets and cover the field…the mines.
ISRAEL-LEBANON: Israel must reexamine use of cluster bombs, committee says - Israel’s use of cluster bombs during the July 2006 war in Lebanon violated international law with regards to protecting civilians, an Israeli committee of inquiry said a year and a half after the end of the conflict between Israel and the armed wing of the Lebanese political party Hezbollah. Since the formal end of the war on 8 September 2006 at least 30 people have been killed and 200 injured by unexploded bombs. “It’s disrespect for human life - it cannot be justified by military means,” said Amnon Vidan, from Amnesty International in Israel.
IRAQ: Government plans massive mine clearance operation - Iraq is planning a huge mine clearance operation in a bid to rid itself of some 25 million unexploded mines in some 4,000 minefields, Environment Minister Narmin Othman said on 3 February. “According to global statistics, Iraq has about 25 percent of the world’s unexploded landmines due to the wars it was involved in”.
SRI LANKA: Claymore mines used to lethal effect, claymore mines are an explosive device that uses a heavy metal sheet backing to project the blast in a certain direction. The presence of Claymores and IEDs is so widespread that troops with fork-like iron prongs now regularly comb Sri Lankan roads, looking for the tell-tale wires that are sometimes used to trigger the devices. On 29 January, 20 civilians, including 11 children, were killed when the bus they were traveling in was hit by a mine explosion near the sacred Madhu Shrine inside Tiger-held areas in the northwestern Mannar District, 240km from Colombo.
ISRAEL-PALESTINE: Relentless rocket attacks take psychological toll on children in Sderot , As it is estimated that some 75% of children between the ages of 4 and 18 years old in the southern Israeli town of Sderot suffer from post-traumatic stress, including sleeping disorders and severe anxiety, new findings published in January say.
SYRIA: UN research indicates high levels of trauma among Iraqi refugees in Syria are suffering from extreme levels of trauma, far higher than among refugees elsewhere from other recent conflicts, according to new figures released on 22 January by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). “It explains why we’re seeing so many children not attending school, why we’re seeing so many families that are going through problems, marriages that are not working out, increased domestic violence - all the worst consequences of trauma,” said Wilkes.
Please stay tuned for in depth postings on the growing situations in Kenya and Chad.