A record number since the start of the war in 2011. United Nations: More than 12 million Syrian children need help

The United Nations has stated that more than 12.3 million Syrian children are in need of humanitarian assistance, a record number since the start of the revolution in Syria in 2011.

“Millions of children continue to live in fear, uncertainty and destitution in Syria and neighboring countries,” said Adele Khader, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

According to the latest data issued by the United Nations, "more than 6.5 million children in Syria need assistance," while "about 5.8 million Syrian children depend on aid in neighboring countries."

"It is the largest number recorded since the start of the conflict, 11 years ago," Khader said in a statement.

The UN official said that "many families are facing difficulties in meeting their needs," noting that "the prices of basic materials, including food, are rising significantly, partly due to the crisis in Ukraine."

UNICEF regretted the drop in international funding, stressing that it had received “less than half of the needed funds this year.” The organization stressed that it “is in dire need of $20 million for its cross-border operations,” which is the only way for nearly one million children in northwest Syria to survive. It is an area controlled by the opposition.

Humanitarian aid to this region passes mainly through the border between Turkey and Syria, under a special mandate from the United Nations that makes it possible to avoid any authorization from the Bashar al-Assad regime.

UNICEF stated that "the crisis in Syria is not over yet," noting that 13,000 children have been killed or injured since 2011, including 213 "during the first three months" of this year.

It is noteworthy that about half a million Syrians have died since the start of the revolution in Syria in 2011, and the Syrian regime resorted to violence in the face of peaceful demonstrators before the revolution turned to weapons to confront the regime’s repression machine, especially after the Iranian intervention and Shiite militias, and then the Russian intervention to support the Bashar al-Assad regime.