A 13-year-old boy tortured to death; a young girl with the side of her face blown off by a shotgun; and scores of other children killed by indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas. The atrocities taking place in Syria every day will make many observers want to turn away.
On Monday, Syrian government forces pounded the neighbourhood of Karm El Zeytoun in Homs, killing at least 45 people; of those, 28 were children. Such incidents are now becoming the norm rather than the exception. Opposition groups claim that shabbiha - "thugs" that support the regime - have been systematically torturing anti-government protesters, forcing hundreds of families to flee. On Monday, news agencies released pictures of young children with their throats slit that supported even the worst rumours and allegations.
The ghosts of Srebrenica, where 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed in 1995, remind us that these acts are never forgotten.
It is not just Syrian children who are being targeted. On Sunday, a lone US soldier murdered 16 Afghan civilians in Kandahar, nine of whom were children. Washington argues this was the rogue act of a madman, but its war in Afghanistan - and drone strikes in Pakistan - have put children at increasing risk.
In Gaza, air strikes over the last week have claimed 25 lives, one of whom was a 12-year-old boy. As is often the case, Israel discounts the lives of Palestinian children as not worth protecting.
As we have said in these pages, state crimes against civilians, in particular against children, can only be justified by a fictional narrative that dehumanises the targets. The more horrific the deaths, the more that this delusion has to be maintained.
The "terrorist" refrain so often heard in Israel is now perversely the same language justifying the Syrian government's violence. We can only accept these are "armed terrorist gangs" if we believe small children are terrorists.
Accurate figures for child deaths in war are almost impossible to gather. According to Unicef, children are increasingly becoming targets and not just "incidental casualties".
In this unrest in the Middle East, it is children who are most vulnerable. It is the responsibility of observers not to turn away - but to insist that murderers of children be held accountable for what they are.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Mina Cup winners
Under 12 – Minerva Academy
Under 14 – Unam Pumas
Under 16 – Fursan Hispania
Under 18 – Madenat
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Four motivational quotes from Alicia's Dubai talk
“The only thing we need is to know that we have faith. Faith and hope in our own dreams. The belief that, when we keep going we’re going to find our way. That’s all we got.”
“Sometimes we try so hard to keep things inside. We try so hard to pretend it’s not really bothering us. In some ways, that hurts us more. You don’t realise how dishonest you are with yourself sometimes, but I realised that if I spoke it, I could let it go.”
“One good thing is to know you’re not the only one going through it. You’re not the only one trying to find your way, trying to find yourself, trying to find amazing energy, trying to find a light. Show all of yourself. Show every nuance. All of your magic. All of your colours. Be true to that. You can be unafraid.”
“It’s time to stop holding back. It’s time to do it on your terms. It’s time to shine in the most unbelievable way. It’s time to let go of negativity and find your tribe, find those people that lift you up, because everybody else is just in your way.”
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