The civil war in Syria has claimed the lives of over 11,000 children. According to a report published by the Oxford Research Group 11,420 underage boys and girls, many of them tortured and executed, have been killed in the nearly three-year conflict. The given numbers are not final, the British think tank claimed as the death toll from the ongoing war continues rising. Dr. Bart Janssens, the Director of Operations for Doctors Without Borders in Brussels, talked with the Voice of Russia about the disturbing statistic and the global community’s reaction.
Dr. Bart Janssens – the Director of Operations for Doctors Without Borders in Brussels.

– Do Syrian children get any aid, medical or psychological, for example?

– Very little, unfortunately. There are many-many areas where good medical and psychological support for children is probably fully unavailable. As an example, in the north MSF has 6 hospitals and 2 health centers where we provide basic healthcare for about 250 000 people. In this area we take a lot of effort to get healthcare for children, vaccination, but also save deliveries. But in many other areas such activities we know of are not available.

– Let’s get to those figures. It is claimed by the Research Group that the data includes only the deaths of named victims. How many Syrian children do you think are still unaccounted for?

– Unfortunately, nobody will really know. And as you’ve mentioned already, the report specifies what we call direct victims of the conflict – the children that have died as a direct consequence of violence. We know that all over Syria more than 4 million people are displaced, that in many parts of the country the situation overall is very bad and specific enclaves are almost totally cut off of the world. In these places vaccination or treatment of pneumonia, which is deadly specifically with the upcoming winter, is simply not available. And this will definitely create even a much higher level of mortality.

– Do you think that this study might trigger any reaction both from the international community and the country’s fighting sides?

– We hope so. Unfortunately, what we really believe is that the humanitarian cost and the humanitarian effects of this horrible conflict in Syria receive much less attention than the political side. So, any such report that provides well-studied and well-researched data is very important to draw a picture of what is really going on and reemphasize the humanitarian drama this crisis is creating.

– It’s mentioned in the study that most children were killed deliberately, targeted by snipers and even tortured? On a broader scale, is there any way to protect children in war-torn countries?

– This is of course a very difficult question. I read the report and I read the recommendations. They are very valuable. The only thing is that we need to create more visibility and accountability of all these deaths. And this is important to put it continuously on the agenda of all political talks around this dreadful conflict.