A/HRC/28/69 near continuous bombardment by Government forces and inadequate humanitarian relief for over two years. Children who fled Rif Damascus in the course of 2014 experienced long-lasting distress as a result of the state of insecurity and constant shelling and Government airstrikes. A mother of three boys aged 7, 5 and 4 years, described her two eldest children as having lost a lot of weight while the family was besieged in eastern Ghouta. The youngest still has nightmares about being bombarded. Psychosocial consequences of bombardment, displacement and other violations have affected children across Syria. 192. The Government continued its aerial bombardment campaign in Dara’a and Idlib governorates throughout 2014, killing and injuring children in several documented instances in October. On 30 July, two children were wounded, one seriously, when Ein Thaka village was aerially bombardment by Government forces. In Samlin (Dara’a), a 12year-old girl was killed during indiscriminate shelling by Government forces reportedly based in Zamrin. 193. A doctor working near the frontlines in Aleppo city reported an increase in injuries from sniper fire between September and October 2014. He estimated that approximately 40% of persons hit by sniper fire were children. Most were targeted in Bustan Al-Pasha and Sheikh Maksood. A pediatrician working in Aleppo described mass malnutrition, communicable diseases, trauma and related ailments, and chronic illnesses left untreated among his patients. 194. With approximately 5,000 schools destroyed in Syria, the resulting sharp decline in children’s education continues to be one of the greatest concerns among those interviewed. The Government aerially bombarded Dar Ta’azzah, a town northwest of Aleppo, in late June, early November and mid-December 2014, hitting a school on 6 November and injuring children in the attack. In Dar Al-Kabira (Homs) and in Bab Touma (Damascus), no schools have been operating since 2012. Some school buildings are used to shelter internally displaced persons, while others have been abandoned after being targeted in aerial attacks. The risk of being attacked while in school prevents children from accessing education. Interviewees who fled Al Hasakah governorate described how children did not go to school due to the frequent bombardments targeting educational institutions. 195. Intelligence and security agencies continued to detain young children together with adults, exposing them to sexual violence and subjecting them to the same ill-treatment and torture as adult detainees. In detention, children also witness violent torture and death. The presence of children was documented in Military Security Branch 235, known as the Palestine Branch, and in the Air Force Intelligence Branch in Mezzeh military airport (Damascus), detention facilities in which torture is systematically employed. A 16-year-old girl was subjected to sexual violence in Military security Branch 248 in Kafr Sousa in Damascus in 2012 and 2013. A 5-year-old child who had been detained and tortured with his mother in several different Government detention facilities, including Branch 248 in Kafr Sousa, suffered severe distress, nightmares, and experienced problems urinating for months afterward. A 16-year-old boy, who was detained and tortured at the National Defense Forces Branch in Al-Joura neighbourhood in Dayr az Zawr, described being held together with at least five other young boys, most of whom were younger than he. They were placed inside a tyre and beaten and hung up for prolonged periods of time. 196. The failure of the Syrian authorities to protect children from the effects of conflict has resulted in a devastating level of displacement of children. In targeting schools and failing to take precautions in attacks to minimize harm to children and schools has led to a significant loss of access to education among Syrian children, while indiscriminate attacks continue to maim and kill children on a massive scale. In detaining children and exposing them to ill-treatment and torture in detention facilities, Syrian authorities, including the military, security and intelligence agencies, have violated children’s human rights and the 50