Libya unrest: thousands of children caught in the crossfire in Misrata
At least 20 children have been killed and many more injured in the besieged city in the past month, says Unicef
A Libyan boy sits on a bed after the clinic he was being treated in was bombed in Misrata. Photograph: Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images
Tens of thousands of children trapped in intense fighting in Misrata are in serious danger amid concern over a humanitarian crisis in the only city in western Libya not under the control of Muammar Gaddafi.
At least 20 children, mostly under the age of 10, have been killed in the besieged city in the past month, according to Unicef, the UN children's agency. Many more have been injured by gunfire or shrapnel from mortars and tank shells.
Thousands of children are caught in the middle of the battle to control the city that has been raging for more than six weeks. Most lack access to sanitation and safe drinking water, Unicef said.
Shelling by Libyan troops continued on Monday, with al-Jazeera quoting a rebel spokesman as saying five people had been killed and about 20 wounded.
"More and more children in this city are being killed, injured and denied their essential needs due to the fighting," said Shahida Azfar of Unicef. "Until the fighting stops we face the intolerable inevitability of children continuing to die and suffer in this war zone."
At least 250 people in the town, mostly civilians, have died in the past month according to two doctors interviewed by phone by Human Rights Watch (HRW).
