Stolen Futures: The hidden toll of child casualties in Syria

New report shows 11,420 children killed in Syrian conflict

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.”