UNICEF calls for repatriating children in Syria’s Hawl after deadly fire
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – On Sunday, the UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Ted Chaiban, said that countries should do everything possible to reintegrate the children in Hawl camp, northeast Syria, into their own societies and repatriate them in a “safe and dignified way.”
Chaiban’s call came after a deadly fire broke out in the Hawl camp, which resulted in the death of 5 children and the burning of more than 30 people, most of them were women and children.
“We call on all member states to provide children – who are their citizens or born to their nationals – with civil documentation to prevent statelessness.”
“Children in Hawl camp are faced not only with the stigma they are living with, but also with very difficult living conditions where basic service are scarce or, in some cases, unavailable,” Chaiban added.
There are more than 22,000 foreign children of at least 60 nationalities who languish in camps and prisons, in addition to many thousands of Syrian children, according to Chaiban.
In the same context, and in a statement released on Sunday, the UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria, Imran Riza, and the Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, Muhannad Hadi, expressed their sorrow over the deadly fire at the Hawl camp.
They extended their heartfelt sympathy to the affected families and wished those injured a quick recovery.
On Sunday, another child died due to the fire broke out in Hawl camp, east of Hasakah, yesterday, raising the number of the dead to five children.
“The injured are still under medical supervision in the hospitals because their burns are severe,” Dr. Diy’a al-Ahmad, head of the surgeries in the camp, told North Press.