10 years of war in Syria: Some 12,000 children were killed or wounded

Almost 12,000 children were killed or injured in the 10-year Syrian civil war and millions abandoned school, the United Nations Children's Fund reported.

Dark statistics published in a U report NICEF on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the start of the conflict in Syria, which began in mid-March 2011.

The war killed nearly half a million people, injured more than a million and displaced half the population, while more than five million have refugee status.

The report notes that the number of children showing symptoms of psycho-social suffering doubled in 2020, as continued exposure to violence, shock and trauma had a significant impact on children's mental health, with short - term and long - term consequences.

U n NICEF said that nearly 12,000 children had been killed or injured in the last decade, according to verified data, and more than 5,700 children, some aged seven, were recruited into the armed forces.

The UN Children's Fund also stated that almost 2.45 million children in Syria and 750,000 other Syrian children in neighbouring countries do not attend school, of which 60 percent are boys.

The situation for a large number of children and families is still uncertain and that almost 90 percent of them need humanitarian aid, which is a 20 - percent increase last year alone, says the report.