UN: Syrian army uses children as 'human shields'

[Lucid]

Syrian troops have tortured children, executed them and used children as young as eight as "human shields" during military raids against rebels, according to a UN report released Tuesday.

The United Nations branded the Syrian government as one of the worst offenders on its annual "list of shame" of conflict countries where children are killed, tortured and forced to fight.

Human rights groups estimate that about 1,200 children have died during the 15-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, whose brutal crackdown on Arab Spring-inspired protests has been widely condemned.

“Rarely, have I seen such brutality against children as in Syria, where girls and boys are detained, tortured, executed, and used as human shields,” Radhika Coomaraswamy, UN special representative for children in armed conflict, told AFP ahead of the report's release.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...241242,00.html

[iSong6:3]

UN Accuses Syria of Using Children as ‘Human Shields’
Assad’s armed forces kill and sexually attack children and use them as human shields, the United Nations charged Monday.
By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
First Publish: 6/12/2012, 9:11 AM

Syrian President Bashar Assad’s armed forces kill and sexually attack children and use them as human shields, the United Nations charged Monday.

As daily reports continue to recount the wholesale bombing and killing of dozens of civilians, the United Nations still is relying on diplomatic pressure to end the brutality that has claimed more than 15,000 lives, wounded countless others and wrecked the Syrian economy.

"In almost all recorded cases, children were among the victims of military operations by government forces, including the Syrian armed forces, the intelligence forces and the shabiha militia, in their ongoing conflict with the opposition, including the Free Syrian Army," the U.N. stated in its annual report on children and armed conflict.

A list of governments and armed groups that abuse children grew last year from 48 to 52, including 32 "persistent perpetrators" and four new ones in Syria, Sudan and Yemen.

A former Syrian soldier was quoted in the report as saying that last December, a commander ordered his troops to shoot at a demonstration, in which three young girls under the age of 13 were killed.

Another source reported that he saw five children gunned down at a school.

Soldiers also took young boys and girls from their homes and used them as humans shields, “placing them in front of the windows of buses carrying military personnel into the raid” on a village.

The United Nations report included reports from children who said they were tortured with electric cables.

Human rights groups have estimated that approximately 1,200 children have been killed in the Syrian uprising that began more than 14 months ago.

The international community has rejected military interference, one of the reasons being fears of a proxy war that could pit Russia and China against U.S.-led NATO forces.

The lack of a unified opposition and a rebel leader also has left doubts about that will happen “the day after” if and when Assad falls from power.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/156790

[grace-saved]

Please come soon Jesus, PLEASE.

[Verisimilitude]

Some more about Syria

http://www.newspakistan.pk/2012/06/1...ren-as-shield/

Lord protect the children.

[Patti311]

Lord how much longer can this go on? I have an 8 yr. old granddaughter...and the thought of her going through something like that...it's unthinkable...not to mention the horrid grief of parents. Please Lord, come quickly

[cricket55]

Using innocent children because they are "too chicken" to stand on their own and be shot down like the scum they are.