Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake on deadly attacks on schools in Idlib, northwest Syria

NEW YORK (October 26, 2016) – “Twenty-two children and six teachers were reportedly murdered today when their school compound was repeatedly attacked in Idlib, Syria. 

“This is a tragedy. It is an outrage. And if deliberate, it is a war crime.

“This latest atrocity may be the deadliest attack on a school since the war began more than five years ago. 

“Children lost forever to their families … teachers lost forever to their students … one more scar on Syria’s future. 

“When will the world’s revulsion at such barbarity be matched by insistence that this must stop?”

About UNICEF
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) works in more than 190 countries and territories to put children first. UNICEF has helped save more children’s lives than any other humanitarian organization, by providing health care and immunizations, clean water and sanitation, nutrition, education, emergency relief and more. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF supports UNICEF's work through fundraising, advocacy and education in the United States. Together, we are working toward the day when no children die from preventable causes and every child has a safe and healthy childhood. For more information, visit www.unicefusa.org.

For more information, contact:
Chloe Kay, U.S. Fund for UNICEF, 917.214.1418, ckay@unicefusa.org