UN says Syria’s war children will grow up illiterate

Special envoy Leila Zerrougui says thousands of schools destroyed, children witness to atrocities

18 July 2013, 4:40 pm

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In this citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Media Center AMC which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Syrian girls paint their faces with colors of the Syrian revolutionary flag during a fesitval, in Aleppo, Syria, Wednesday March 20, 2013 (photo credit: AP/Aleppo Media Center)

BEIRUT (AP) — A UN envoy is warning that Syria’s devastating civil war, now in its third year, will force a generation of children to grow up illiterate and filled with hate.

Leila Zerrougui, the special representative for children and armed conflict, says both sides of the Syrian conflict continue to commit grave violations against children.

She says scores of children have been killed, injured, detained, and forced to witness or to commit atrocities as President Bashar Assad’s troops battle opposition fighters trying to oust his regime.

Zerrougui also said on Thursday that thousands of schools have been destroyed. She spoke to reporters in Beirut after a visit to Syria where she met government officials and rebel commanders.

She says she has urged both sides to spare the children.