IDLIB, Syria
A kindergarten in the northern province of Idlib has turned into an orphanage after becoming home to tens of children who lost one or both of their parents in Syria's civil war.
Rawdat Al-Jinan kindergarten in the town of Salqin has basic facilities, but nevertheless, it provides orphans with education and other needs.
“My father was killed in a regime strike in Aleppo,” Mohamed Khair Al-Janoudi, one of the orphans at the kindergarten told The Anadolu Agency. "He was a salesman and did not belong to any opposition party."
Five orphan brothers whose father belonged to the Free Syrian Army also live at the facility. Their father was killed as he returned from a meeting with group members.
Jamil Mosaitah, the kindergarten's manager, said the facility was turned into an orphanage by a relief organization.
Thousands of Syrian children have been killed by Assad regime forces, while others lost their parents and had no choice but to quit school and become breadwinners for their families.
Opposition forces, in March 2011, began protests to topple President Bashar Al-Assad, a struggle that turned into a civil war in July of that year after regime forces violently suppressed protests.
More than 190,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began, according to UN figures published last August.
Amnesty International said more than 10 million people have been forced out of their homes; at least four million of them have become refugees, mostly in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt.
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