Syrian Children Still Suffering

For the almost 4 years activist in large cities like Aleppo, Homs, Hama, Idilb, Raqqa and Damascus have reported that children are being targeted by government sniper shots. My initial reaction was one of skepticism even though the violence in Syria is the worst I have seen. In the beginning the summary executions of men in the field and on the front-line of the protests made even more people join in non-violent protests.  The government went onto raze whole neighborhoods, destroyed businesses, and started daily barrel bombs in areas where protesters lived. The government has killed hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians and trapped those who try to get away with snipers without punishment. The horrific sights frightened millions and ultimately drew them into civil war as they relentlessly called for punishment to those in the government that murdered. The activists said without the government's proper response the public has grown more disdain for Assad and his governmental control.

The arrival of ISIL terrorists and Al Nusra an Al Qaeda based organization has muted the original fight for justice and now children are struggling with snipers, bombs, grotesk beheadings and mutilations. Validation of the sniper reports from the activists came from two studies worth reading one by the think-tank Oxford Research Group   and the other from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). In the Oxford article the research group accumulated interviews and core data and wrote  Stolen Futures: The Hidden Toll of Child Casualties in Syria the article gives readers an articulate understanding about the deaths of the children in Syria. As for the ongoing problems from outside terrorists there does not seem be any end in sight and the already struggling Syrians now have to try to protect themselves from ISIL and  Al Nusra terrorists along with Assad's government.