UNICEF laments the killing of Iraqi child in Green Zone rocket attack

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) called on all parties in Iraq to protect children by refraining from launching attacks that could harm attacking civilians following a rocket attack in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone that resulted in the death of a child and injury of five other civilians.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) called on all parties in Iraq to protect children by refraining from launching attacks that could harm attacking civilians following a rocket attack in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone that resulted in the death of a girl and injury of five other civilians.

The attack appears to violate a ceasefire that had been declared by Iranian-backed militias of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) who had vowed to refrain from targeting locations associated with America’s political and military presence in Iraq.

Read More: Four rockets hit Baghdad’s Green Zone, violating militias’ self-declared ceasefire against US targets

Iraq’s Security Media Cell announced that seven rockets were launched initially, with four hitting the Green Zone and the remaining three striking within nearby residential neighborhoods.

Hamida Ramadhani Lasseko, the UNICEF representative in Iraq, said in a statement "We are very sorry and sad that yesterday's attacks in Baghdad killed a child and injured several others."

"The purpose of homes is to be the safest place for children. The home is the place where children enjoy protection and are surrounded by love, affection, and care from their parents and families," Lasseko added.

Lasseko pointed out, "Violence is still the norm in Iraq for nearly forty years, and children are still the ones who bear its brunt and pay the price."

She called on all parties in Iraq to "protect children at all times and refrain from attacking civilians, civilian infrastructure and populated areas, including the homes of safe people."

"The time has come for the children of Iraq to get the rest they deserve so much. It is time to end violence and forever in a country that has been paying a heavy price over the past forty years."

Editing by John J. Catherine