UNICEF: Tragedy of Syrian children culminated last year

More Syrian children were killed last year than in any year of this six-year conflict, UNICEF claims, Patria reports.

At least 652 children lost their lives in the last 12 months, which is 20 percent more than in 2015, according to the organization in its report released on Monday, CNN reported.

Most children lost their lives at or near school.

The report included only confirmed figures, meaning the death toll could be much higher, the report states.

- I wanted to become a doctor, but I probably won't become anything because our school was attacked, says six-year-old Ahmad. "We always played in the schoolyard, but now I'm afraid to even come here," he adds.

At least 850 children were recruited for combat in 2016, double the number from the previous year, UNICEF claims. Children are increasingly used for fighting on battlefields, "including even more extreme situations where they are used as assassins, suicide bombers, and prison guards," the agency states in its report on the situation of children in Syria.

- Every Syrian child has suffered lifelong trauma with devastating consequences for their health and future, said Geert Cappelaere, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Nearly 6 million children depend on humanitarian aid, which is 12 times more than in 2012.

UNICEF claims that some parts of the country are inaccessible; it is estimated that about 280,000 children live in these besieged areas. They have no access to humanitarian aid and are "dying in silence from diseases that are otherwise easily preventable," UNICEF representatives state.

"Toxic Stress"

Last week, the British humanitarian organization Save the Children published a report stating that Syrian children suffer from "toxic stress" caused by the brutality of the civil war.

At least 3 million Syrian children aged up to 6 years "do not know the meaning of war," Save the Children claims, adding that prolonged exposure can lead to serious complications, including self-harm and suicide attempts.

In this report, the father of three-year-old Saeed is quoted, explaining the early consequences of living in a war zone.

- My son wakes up in the middle of the night - in fear, says the father. "He saw a child being beheaded in front of him, so he started dreaming that they would come for him too. When a child witnesses a beheading, how can he not live in fear?" asks this desperate father.

It is estimated that more than 400,000 Syrians have been killed in the war since its beginning in 2011, making this conflict the largest humanitarian crisis since World War II, according to the UN, CNN reported.