Drowning of boy: 3 get 125 yrs each 384,000 DEAD IN SYRIA AFTER 9 YEARS OF WAR
Ankara, March 14: Three human traffickers have been sentenced in a Turkish court to 125 years each in prison over the tragic drowning in 2015 of Syrian toddler Alan Kurdi, who was pictured lying face down on a beach in a harrowing photo that became the symbol of the refugee crisis.
The men, who were the organisers of a trafficking ring, were captured by Turkish security forces this week in the southern province of Adana and sentenced on Friday, according to state news agency Andalou. They were on the run after fleeing during their trial. Other Turkish and Syrian defendants have also received prison sentences following the toddler’s death in September 2015.
The men were sentenced at the Bodrum High Criminal Court in Mugla for the crime of “killing with eventual intent”. The 3-year-old’s body washed up on a beach in Bodrum, in southern Turkey, after a boat carrying refugees sank off the coast. An officer was pictured carrying the lifeless child away. The heartbreaking image of the boy on the beach went viral around the world, often with a Turkish hashtag meaning “flotsam of humanity”.
Beirut, March 14: At least 384,000 people have died in Syria, including more than 116,000 civilians, since the war began in March 2011, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday.
Sparked by deadly repression of peaceful pro-democracy protests, the conflict has drawn in outside powers in a complex war involving rebel factions, jihadist groups and foreign interests. As the war enters its 10th year, the government of President Bashar al-Assad now controls more than 70 percent of Syrian territory, thanks to the military support of its allies Russia, Iran and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
The conflict is the “worst man-made disaster since World War II”, the United Nations human rights chief declared in 2017. The war has destroyed the economy and caused more than 11 million Syrians to flee their homes. According to the Observatory, the latest death toll includes about 22,000 children and 13,000 women.