GENEVA: More than 7 million children have been affected by the devastating earthquake and a massive aftershock that brought havoc to the Turkiye and Syria last week, the United Nations (UN) said Tuesday, voicing fear that many thousands more had died.
UN agency for children UNICEF’s spokesman James Elder said that “In Turkey, the total number of children living in the ten provinces hit by the 2 earthquakes was 4.6 million while 2.5 million children are affected in Syria.
His statement comes as rescue teams started winding down the search operations for survivors from the disastrous quake that has left over 35,000 dead in both countries.
UN fears thousands of children are killed
Elder said UNICEF fears that many thousands of children have been killed. He warned that even without a verified death toa toll, it is tragically clear that it will continue to grow.
He feared the final numbers would be mind-boggling and terrifying.
He added that among the survivors, hundreds of thousands of homeless people face hunger and cold. Affected families with children are sleeping in the streets, schools, mosques, malls, under bridges and bus stations. – APP
