Extreme winter weather in Syria leaves 15 displaced children dead
Severe weather conditions in Syria have killed at least 15 displaced children seeking refuge, over half of whom were in a camp under US military control.
The UN Children's Fund (Unicef) said eight of them had died as a result of the cold in Rukban camp in southeastern Syria and seven others during the displacement from the jihadist bastion of Hajin, further north.
The isolated desert camp is situated on Syria’s border with Jordan, which has denied those seeking refuge entry for fear Islamic State infiltrators may be hiding among civilians, and is close to the US’s base at al-Tanf.
"Freezing temperatures and harsh living conditions in Rukban are increasingly putting children's lives at risk," Geert Cappelaere, Unicef regional director, said.
"In just one month, at least eight children - most of them under four months and the youngest only one hour old - have died," he said.
Conditions at Rukban camp, where 80 per cent of the 45,000 residents are women and children, was increasing infant mortality.
Residents, who are unable to leave and are running out of food after smuggling routes were closed, have described it as “hell on earth”.
The cold snap that has hit the region is also having dire consequences on the people fleeing the fighting in the so-called Hajin pocket in eastern Syria.
The area near the Iraqi border has seen intense fighting between Isil jihadists defending the last remnants of their "caliphate" and Kurdish-led forces backed by US air strikes.
According to the UN, more than 10,000 people have fled the area since December.
"Families seeking safety face difficulties leaving the conflict zone and wait in the cold for days without shelter or basic supplies," Mr Cappelaere said.
"The dangerous and difficult journey has reportedly killed seven children - most of them under one-year-old" in Hajin, he said.
The UN, whose new special envoy Geir Pedersen was in Damascus on his first trip Tuesday, has consistently asked for improved humanitarian access in Syria.
Rukban has been particularly difficult to reach due to its sensitive location on the Jordanian border and the proximity of US forces and the rebels they support.
Emergency supplies were delivered in November in the first aid convoy to reach Rukban in 10 months.
The World Food Programme on Tuesday demanded a second such convoy be organised as soon as possible.
"The lives of babies continue to be cut short by health conditions that are preventable or treatable. There are no excuses for this in the 21st century," Mr Cappelaere said.
"This tragic man-made loss of life must end now," he said.
