Use of explosive weapons in Syria has disproportionately lethal effects on women and children

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-09/b-wc092515.php

Public Release: 29-Sep-2015
Use of explosive weapons in Syria has disproportionately lethal effects on women and children
New evidence shows the ongoing severe impact of war on civilian deaths
BMJ

Using explosive weapons in populated areas in Syria has disproportionately lethal effects on women and children and should be urgently prohibited, say a team of international experts in The BMJ today.

For Syrian children, explosive weapons such as bombs and missiles, were the most lethal, the findings show.

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The results show that children are more likely to be fatal victims of air bombardments, shells, and ground level explosives than men or women.

In government held areas, child deaths were 5 times as likely to be due to ground level explosives, such as car bombs than deaths among men.

Women were the second most likely to die due to explosive weapons, while the likelihood of death for men was higher for shootings and executions.

The government and rebel factions in Syria typically claim that the targets of their bombs and shells are enemy combatant strongholds, write the authors, "but our findings indicate that for Syrian children these are the weapons most likely to cause death."

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