Thousands of Children Out of School As Classrooms Shelled in Eastern Ukraine

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) strongly condemned the indiscriminate shelling of schools, forcing thousand of children out of school in eastern Ukraine, and called for all sides to immediately recommit to the ceasefire signed in Minsk in August 2015.

    "The shelling of schools, the one place where children find safety and normalcy during conflict, is unacceptable and has to stop," said UNICEF's Representative in Ukraine, Giovanna Barberis, in a news release. "Children in eastern Ukraine have suffered enough and we must ensure that they have safe spaces to seek solace and support." At least five schools and two kindergartens have been damaged by heavy shelling and 11 other schools have had to close, according to humanitarian organizations supporting the emergency education response in Ukraine.

    More than 2,600 children from 13 schools in government-controlled areas in eastern Ukraine have been affected by the sharp escalation in fighting, along with hundreds more from schools in non-government controlled areas.

    After nearly three years of conflict, more than 740 school, one in five, have been damaged or destroyed, resulting in girls and boys missing many months of schooling due to displacement and the effects of conflict.

Source: QNA