Turkey marks int'l day of child victims of aggression

By Erdogan Cagatay Zontur

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's National Defense Ministry on Thursday marked the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression.

"We will continue to be a beacon of hope for the innocent war-weary children!" the ministry said on Twitter, alongside a video depicting scenes of the Turkish military personnel helping child victims of conflict.

"We want them to be children of peace, not war," read the video's closing image.

An emergency session of the UN General Assembly on Aug. 19, 1982, marked the day in the face of the "great number of innocent Palestinian and Lebanese children victims of Israel's acts of aggression."

The day acknowledges the pain of children worldwide who were subject to physical, mental and emotional abuse and affirms the UN's commitment to protect the rights of children, according to the UN's website.