A Syrian man walks past a bus set ablaze following a reported air strike in the rebel-held Salaheddin district of Aleppoon September 25, 2016. (AFP/Xinhua)
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said here Wednesday that at least 96 children have been killed and 223 injured in eastern Aleppo, a city in north Syria, since last Friday.
"The children of Aleppo are trapped in a living nightmare," said UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Justin Forsyth. "There are no words left to describe the suffering they are experiencing."
The health system in Eastern Aleppo is crumbling with some 30 doctors left, hardly any equipment or emergency medicine to treat the injured, and an ever increasing number of trauma cases.
Doctors on the ground said that children with low chances of survival are too often left to die due to limited capacity and supplies, the UN agency said in a press release issued here.
"Nothing can justify such assaults on children and such total disregard for human life," Forsyth said. "The suffering -- and the shock among children -- is definitely the worst we have seen."
On Sunday, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, speaking at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Syria, strongly appealed to the 15 council members, particularly permanent members Russia and the United States, to rescue the recently collapsed cessation of hostilities, help end the bloodshed and enable urgent aid into the iconic city, where, overall, some 2 million people remain trapped under a de facto siege.
