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Sunday, November 24, 2013
Report shows 11,420 children killed in Syrian conflict

MAJOR NEW REPORT SHOWS 11,420 CHILDREN KILLED IN SYRIAN CONFLICT: 7 OUT OF
10 BY EXPLOSIVES, 1 IN 4 BY BULLETS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

London, 24 November 2013

Releasing new figures based on an analysis of 11,420 recorded child deaths
in Syria, the Oxford Research Group (ORG) published a new report
highlighting the major ways in which boys and girls across all age groups
are being killed in the conflict.

The report, Stolen Futures: The hidden toll of child casualties in Syria,
reveals that explosive weapons have been the cause of more than 7 out of
every 10 child deaths in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011, while
small arms fire accounts for more than one quarter of the total. This
includes children caught in cross fire, as well as others targeted by
snipers, summarily executed and in some cases, tortured.

“The data we analysed indicates that bombs and bullets alone ended the lives
of ten thousand Syrian children in 30 months of war,” said co-author Hamit
Dardagan. “The world needs to take a much closer interest in the effects of
the conflict on Syria’s children.”

Stolen Futures draws on the same Syrian civil society-sourced databases that
informed previous casualty statistics, published by the UN and others, but
examines in unprecedented detail the information they contain on victims and
how they were killed. This reveals that:

* 11,420 children (aged 17 and under) were recorded killed in the conflict
by end of August 2013, from an overall total of 113,735 civilians and
combatants killed.

* 7 out of every 10 child deaths was caused by explosive weapons, making
their use the biggest killer of children in Syria. (7,557, or 71%, of the
10,586 children whose cause of death was recorded.)

* Small arms fire accounted for one in four child deaths, including
children summarily executed and targeted by snipers. (2,806, or 26.5%, of
the 10,586 children whose cause of death was recorded, including 764
summarily executed and 389 killed by sniper fire.)

* Of the 764 children recorded as summarily executed, 112 were reported to
have been tortured, including some of infant age.

* Children in older age groups were targeted more often than younger
children, and overall boys outnumbered girls killed by about 2 to 1. (1,748
vs. 3,672)

* Older boys in the 13- to 17- year old group were consistently the most
frequent victims of targeted killings such as those involving sniper fire,
execution or torture.

* The highest child casualty figures were in the governate of Aleppo, but
relative to its size, the worst affected governorate was Daraa, where
roughly 1 in 400 children was recorded killed. (Aleppo, 2,223, or 1 in 985,
children killed; Dara, 1,134, or 1 in 408, children killed.)

* 128 children were recorded killed by chemical weapons in Ghouta on 21
August, 2013.

The report’s co-author, Hana Salama, commented:

“What is most disturbing about the findings of this report is not only the
sheer numbers of children killed in this conflict, but the way they are
being killed. Bombed in their homes, in their communities, during day-to-day
activities such as waiting in bread lines or attending school; shot by
bullets in crossfire, targeted by snipers, summarily executed, even gassed
and tortured. All conflict parties need to take responsibility for the
protection of children, and ultimately find a peaceful solution for the war
itself.”

As Syrians and the international community take tentative steps towards a
political resolution to the conflict, co-author, Hamit Dardagan, added:

“This study shows why explosive weapons should never be used where children
live and play, how older children quickly become targets in a war and even
the youngest suffer its worst abuses. This grim and terrible record also
shows why a sustainable peace, not more bombs and bullets, is the only way
to guarantee the safety of children.”

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

Describing the study’s methods, the authors note that only named victims
were used in their analysis, and that the percentages and figures in their
findings are limited to cases where the relevant information (such as cause
of death) was available. The full report includes a survey of the Syrian
organisations whose casualty lists and databases were used in the study and
have become the world’s de facto source of record on the conflict’s
casualties; timelines showing the mounting child death toll across the
worst-affected regions of Syria; and more detailed breakdowns of the
demographics of child victims by age and gender, and the weapons involved in
their death.

About the authors

Hamit Dardagan is the Co-Director of the Every Casualty programme at Oxford
Research Group (ORG). In 2002, he co-founded the Iraq Body Count project
(www.iraqbodycount.org) and is a director of its parent company, Conflict
Casualties Monitor, which produced the analysis in this report. He has
written and co-written a number of analytical papers on casualties in Iraq
after the 2003 invasion, including for The New England Journal of Medicine,
PLoS Medicine, and The Lancet. He has published articles outlining the case
for the detailed recording of all casualties in publications as diverse
asThe Guardian and The British Army Review, the latter in co-authorship with
a now-retired Brigadier General in the British Army.

Hana Salama is the Networks Officer of the Every Casualty programme at
Oxford Research Group (ORG). She works with members of the ORG-hosted
International Practitioners Network of Casualty Recorders and other experts
to develop standards in the field of casualty recording. Hana interviewed
representatives of the Syrian casualty recording organisations whose data
was used for this report. She also works on promoting and establishing
casualty recording as an international norm through coordinating
international advocacy on the issue through the Every Casualty Campaign.
Before joining ORG, Hana worked at Amnesty International. She holds an MSc
in Human Rights from The London School of Economics (LSE), and a BSc in
International Development Studies from the University of Ottawa, Canada.

About Oxford Research Group (ORG)

ORG is a leading independent UK think tank, based in London, and has worked
for 30 years to promote sustainable approaches to security and non-military
solutions to conflict.

www.oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk

The Every Casualty programme at Oxford Research Group (ORG) is committed to
the principle that no individual should be killed in armed violence without
his or her death being recorded, and is working to build the political will
for this internationally. The programme also works on enhancing the
technical and institutional capacity for casualty recording, and part of
this work involves hosting an International Practitioner Network of more
than 45 casualty recording organisations.

www.everycasualty.org and www.oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk/rcac

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT

Russell Hargrave
press@everycasualty.org
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7549 0298
Mobile: +44 (0) 7770 729557

DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT AT
http://ref.ec/sf
or
http://ow.ly/r5BUR

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