Syria's forgotten children: How youngsters are forced to play with rockets and eat leaves as the civil war rages
By ANNA EDWARDS
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As the civil war in Syria rages on between the rebels and government forces, countless innocent civilians have died in the ongoing battle.
For those left behind, they have tried to carve out as normal a life as possible - despite the destruction and bloodshed that has become a standard feature of their landscape.
But for the children of Syria, the extraordinary violence and hardship is the usual for them.
Distressing photos show how the youngsters use discarded weaponry to fashion toys from them.
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Children ride on makeshift swings made from remnants of rockets at a basement in the Duma neighbourhood in Damascus
Remnants of weapons including rockets, mortar shells, bullet casings have been used to create ornamental objects, musical instruments
and toys for children to entertain them during Eid al-Adha
Remnants of rockets, bullet shells and mortar cases have been turn into swings, ornaments and games for the youngsters, who happily play with whatever they can find.
The desperate measures to provide children with entertainment came as adults tried to make them forget about the pain of their everyday lives, so that they could enjoy the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha.
As the children enjoy some unexpected pleasure in their macabre toys, other infants across Syria are starving to death.
Children trapped inside a town that is under siege have been forced to eat leaves and berries because no food or supplies can reach them.
Moadamia, which was was attacked by the deadly Sarin nerve-gas in August, has been barricaded in for nearly a year; any resident who attempts to leave faces being shot or tortured, Vice.com reported.
Children have delighted in playing with their toys, which are a welcome distraction from the violence that surrounds their homes
Children ride on a makeshift merry-go-round made from remnants of Russian bombs
Children play with ornamental objects made from the scraps of weapons as adults try to shield them from the horrors of war
The rebel-held town is threatened on a near-daily basis by shelling attacks - but the children are not dying at the hands of war weapons - it is through starvation that they are dying a cruel and slow death.
Some mothers cannot produce milk, so can only watch as their helpless babies slowly starve.
Graphic videos show how the children's stomachs have swelled, their eyes protrude and their gums bleed from malnourishment.
One baby that was filmed a day before she died of malnutrition and had deteriorated so badly that doctors could not do anything to save her.
The food situation has become so desperate that a cleric has issued a fatwa allowing starving people in Syria to eat cats and dogs.
As Muslims around the world mark the Eid al-Adha holiday, sharing festive meals, children trapped in besieged areas around the Syrian capital are going hungry, activists and medics say.
'We issued a religious edict allowing people to eat dog and cat meat. Not because it is religiously permitted, but because it is a reflection of the reality we are suffering,' said Sheikh Saleh al-Khatib, who has been on hunger strike for nine days.
'People here have nothing for their children. I am on strike because I want to help save food for others.'
Desperate; This little girl died of starvation shortly after she was filmed. There are reports that children are eating leaves because they
are so hungry
But while thousands of children struggle to survive, the war in Syria shows no sign of abating.
Car bombs and mortar shells have exploded close to the hotel where chemical weapons inspectors are staying in the Syrian capital in recent days, but officials say there is no way of knowing if the team is being deliberately targeted.
In the past five days, mortar rounds have twice exploded close to the hotel and car bombs have been detonated, Malik Ellahi, a senior official at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, said at the organisation's headquarters in The Hague.
The blasts underscore the risky nature of the team's work amid Syria's devastating civil war, but have not prevented progress.
'In terms of the security situation there are always concerns but the team so far has, with the co-operation of the Syrian authorities, managed to conduct its work unimpeded,' Mr Ellahi said.
The OPCW won the Nobel Peace Prize last week for its work in attempting to rid the world of chemical weapons.
It is working with the United Nations in an unprecedented disarmament mission in Syria, attempting to destroy the country's chemical arsenal by mid-2014 - the first time its inspectors have been sent into the heart of a civil war.
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