Children in Syrian ISIL prison living in dire conditions: UN

UNITED NATIONS – February 7 (ONLINE): Hundreds of children held in a prison in Syria who witnessed a bloody 10-day battle between US-backed Kurdish fighters and ISIL (ISIS) are living in “incredibly precarious” conditions and they should not have been there in the first place, the UN says.

The children’s agency UNICEF added it is ready to support a new safe place in Syria’s northeast to take care of the most vulnerable children, some of whom are as young as 12. Its statement on Sunday came a day after a visit by one of its teams to the prison in the northeastern city of Hassakeh.

UNICEF members said after visiting children at the prison that they had been living in dire conditions for years, and in January “witnessed and survived heightened violence” in and around the facility.

More than 3,000 inmates, of whom more than 600 are children, are held at the Hassakeh jail.

“Despite some of the basic services now in place, the situation of these children is incredibly precarious,” Bo Viktor Nylund, UNICEF’s Syria representative, said in the statement.

While boys were separated from adults, the groups mixed when ISIL fighters stormed the prison in a jailbreak on January 20. Some inmates escaped, while others including child detainees were taken hostage in the ensuing battle.

Nylund said UNICEF is working to provide safety and care for them while calling on all stakeholders to urgently find long-term solutions in the best interests of the children.

“Children should never be in detention due to association with armed groups,” Nylund said. “Children associated with and recruited by armed groups should always be treated as victims of conflict.”