(Brussels Times) Over 300 Belgian academics from universities across the country have signed an open letter calling for the repatriation of Belgian children in Syria, prompted by the death in April of a one-year-old Belgian in the war-torn country.
“This baby is the third Belgian child to die in less than a month. These tragedies could’ve been avoided,” the letter reads.
The academics express particular concern with deteriorating conditions in the city’s overpopulated refugee camps, citing UNICEF estimates that of the 8,000 foreign children living there, 50 are Belgian.
“Most of the infant deaths are the result of malnutrition; other children die from their injuries due to a lack of medical attention,” the letter continues.
