U.S. soldiers helped rescue 24 abused and severely malnourished boys this month from a Baghdad orphanage, where they were found in conditions of appalling squalor, the U.S. military said on Wednesday.
Iraqi and U.S. soldiers were led to the Al-Hanan orphanage on June 10 by members of a neighborhood council and immediately took the children to hospital. The story was first reported by CBS News on Monday.
“The 24 boys, aged 3 to 15 years old, were found naked in a darkened room without any windows. Many of the children were tied to their beds and were too weak to stand once released,” the U.S. military said in a statement.
Pictures on Iraqi television showed a series of tiny, starved, naked figures. In one, a U.S. soldier attended a boy whose body was covered in sores.
Another child was tied to a cot and a third picture showed a group of boys lying face down on the floor, in pools of what appeared to be their own excrement.
“In a nearby locked room, the soldiers discovered a room full of food and clothing that could have been used to aid the children,” the statement said.
A spokeswoman for the government ministry responsible for the orphanage said that the building’s director had been arrested, together with several members of his staff.
Since leaving hospital, the boys have been moved to an orphanage for girls next door to where they were found.
This image from video released by CBS News, shows children in an orphanage in Baghdad, Iraq in June 2007. U.S. and Iraqi soldiers found 24 severely malnourished children in a Baghdad orphanage, some tied to their beds and too weak to stand, the U.S. military said Wednesday June 20, 2007. The U.S. military, which leaked the story and pictures of the orphanage to CBS News earlier this week, said they were all boys between the ages of 3 and 15. (AP Photo/CBS News)
This photo released by CBS News shows food in a storeroom in an orphanage in Baghdad, Iraq in June 2007. U.S. and Iraqi soldiers found 24 severely malnourished children in a Baghdad orphanage, some tied to their beds and too weak to stand, the U.S. military said Wednesday June 20, 2007. The U.S. military, which leaked the story and pictures of the orphanage to CBS News earlier this week, said they were all boys between the ages of 3 and 15. (AP Photo/CBS News)
This is outrageous.
Technorati Tags: Iraq, USa, Child Abuse,
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pienso que tendrian que encarcelar a los responsables de la condision de esos ninos ,y que el gob de estados unidos tiene que ayudar a esos ninos porque asi como EEUU manda soldados y gasta tanto dinero para la seguridad del pais tambien los ninos son parte del pais y los mas indefensos ,tambien quisiera ofrecer mi colaboracion si se puede mandar donaciones para los ninos ,esto es algo que no podemos permitir que suceda mas;espero que todos tomemos conciencia .
Gracias, Claudia, por tu comentario.
Que se sepa los han cambiado provisionalmente a otro de chicas que hay al lado. Lo que no tengo conocimiento es de que haya alguna campaña de donaciones a favor de estos niños.
Si me entero lo posteo. De todas maneras, hay que tener cuidado, porque la gente puede tomar conciencia pero mandar el dinero y que luego no les llegue. Así que hay que asegurarse de que efectivamente sí estemos mandándoselo a ellos.