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A6 WORLD NEWS
Monday 7 February 2022
UNICEF: Children in NE Syria prison live in dire conditions

BEIRUT (AP) — Children Jan. 31, the U.S.-backed
held in a prison in north- and Kurdish-led Syrian
east Syria that witnessed 10 Democratic Forces said
days of fighting between they had retaken control of
U.S.-backed fighters and the prison and confirmed
Islamic State group mili- that 77 prison employees,
tants are living in "incredibly 40 Kurdish fighters and four
precarious" conditions and civilians were killed, along-
they should not have been side 374 IS detainees and
there in the first place, the attackers.
U.N. children's agency said The SDF provided no break-
Sunday. down of the dead detain-
UNICEF added that the ees, or how many of them
agency is ready to help were children.
support a new safe place Nylund said destruction in
in Syria's northeast to take the surrounding area of the
care of the most vulnerable prison is significant with de-
children, some of whom stroyed homes affecting an
are as young as 12. Its state- estimated 30,000 people.
ment came a day after a He said every effort, includ-
visit by one of its teams to ing by the Syrian govern-
the prison in the northeast- ment and local authori-
ern city of Hassakeh. A soldier with the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces checks area in Hassakeh, Syria, Tuesday, ties, to provide immediate
The UNICEF team said af- Jan. 25, 2022. assistance should be sup-
ter visiting some children Associated Press ported. "Children should
at the prison in the city never be in detention due
of Hassakeh on Saturday Syria. President Joe Biden Bo Viktor Nylund, UNICEF's ing to provide safety and to association with armed
that they have lived in dire said al-Qurayshi had been Syria representative, said in care for them while calling groups," Nylund said. "Chil-
conditions at the deten- responsible for the Syria the statement. on all stakeholders to ur- dren associated with and
tion center for years and prison assault. While boys were held sep- gently find long-term solu- recruited by armed groups
in January "witnessed and Over 3,000 inmates, of arately from adults, the tions in the best interests of should always be treated
survived heightened vio- which some 600 are chil- groups mixed when IS mili- the children. as victims of conflict."
lence" in and around the dren, are held at the Has- tants stormed the prison He said UNICEF is ready to He said UNICEF calls for
prison. sakeh prison, known as in a jailbreak on Jan. 20. help support a new safe the immediate release of
The visit came two days af- Gweiran or al-Sinaa. Some inmates escaped, place in Syria's northeast to children in all detention
ter IS's top leader, Abu Ibra- "Despite some of the basic while others including child take care of the most vul- centers across northeast
him al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, services now in place, the detainees were taken hos- nerable children, some of Syria and for handing them
was killed in a U.S. raid on situation of these children tage in the ensuing battle. whom are as young as 12. over to child protection
his safehouse in northwest is incredibly precarious," Nylund said UNICEF is work- At a press conference on agencies.q

U.N. experts: North Korea seeks to produce material for nukes

sibly medium-range missiles tacks to help finance its tially imposed sanctions on
through January, "incor- programs and continuing North Korea after its first nu-
porating both ballistic and to seek material and tech- clear test explosion in 2006
guidance technologies nology overseas for its arse- and made them tougher in
and using both solid and nal including in Iran. response to further nuclear
liquid propellants." "Cyberattacks, particularly tests and the country's in-
"New technologies tested on cryptocurrency assets, creasingly sophisticated
included a possible hyper- remain an important rev- nuclear and ballistic missile
sonic guiding warhead and enue source" for Kim Jong programs.
a maneuverable re-entry Un's government, the ex- The panel of experts said
vehicle," the panel said. perts monitoring the im- North Korea's blockade
North Korea also demon- plementation of sanctions aimed at preventing CO-
strated "increased capabil- against the North said in VID-19 resulted in "histori-
ities for rapid deployment, the new report. cally low levels" of people
wide mobility (including at In recent months, North and goods entering and
sea), and improved resil- Korea has launched a va- leaving the country. Legal
This photo provided by the North Korean government shows
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches what it says a test ience of its missile forces." riety of weapons systems and illegal trade including
launch of a hypersonic missile on Jan. 11, 2022 in North Korea. The experts said North Ko- and threatened to lift the in luxury goods "has largely
Associated Press rea "continued to seek four-year moratorium on ceased" though cross-bor-
material, technology and more serious weapons tests der rail traffic resumed in
By EDITH M. LEDERER a new report. know-how for these pro- such as nuclear explosions early January, it said.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The panel of experts said grams overseas, including and ICBM launches. Janu- The panel has previously
North Korea has continued in the executive summa- through cyber means and ary saw a record nine mis- made clear that North
to develop its nuclear and ry of the report obtained joint scientific research." sile launches, and other Korea remains able to
ballistic missile programs Saturday night by The As- A year ago, the panel said weapons it recently tested evade sanctions and to il-
including its capability to sociated Press that there North Korea had modern- include a developmental licitly import refined petro-
produce nuclear device was "a marked accelera- ized its nuclear weapons hypersonic missile and a leum, access international
components in violation of tion" of Pyongyang's test- and ballistic missiles by submarine-launched mis- banking channels and
U.N. Security Council reso- ing and demonstration of flaunting United Nations sile. carry out "malicious cyber
lutions, U.N. experts said in new short-range and pos- sanctions, using cyberat- The Security Council ini- activities."q