UNESCO: 1.7 million Syrian children not attending school

UNESCO has said that 1.7 million Syrian children are not attending school, warning that a further 1.3 million others are at risk of further threats to their education, Anadolu reported yesterday.

In a press conference held in Geneva, UNESCO spokesman Christophe Bulirak said that 4,000 attacks had been counted against schools since the start of the conflict in the country in 2011.

He also said that nine children were killed during the last two weeks in Syria due to attacks on schools and areas around them.

The UN currently estimates 400,000 Syrians have lost their lives since the outbreak of the Syrian revolution against the rule of President Bashar Al-Assad. Al-Assad inherited power from his father, long-time Syrian dictator Hafez Al-Assad, in 2000.