30 Dec 2017

Syrian children caught up in a country in chaos

From Up This Way, 8:20 am on 30 December 2017
A Syrian boy talks to an injured girl as she lies on an operating bed in an emergency room in the rebel-held town of Douma in Syria's eastern Ghouta region on December 17.

A Syrian boy talks to an injured girl as she lies on an operating bed in an emergency room in the rebel-held town of Douma in Syria's eastern Ghouta region on December 17. Photo: AFP PHOTO / Hamza Al-Ajweh

The war in Syria hasn't abated, with the situation in rebel-held Eastern Ghouta reaching a critical point. Dozens have been killed in the last month and now there is the issue of the injured. Children are being evacuated, but there are fears they're being used a bargaining chips in the war.

It's a common issue for besieged cities across the world, with UN children's agency warning that 2017 has been brutal for young people caught in the crossfire.

UNICEF New Zealand Executive Director, Vivien Maidaborn talks to Simon Morton.

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