(recast) Violence in Middle East, North Africa keeps 13 mln children out of school: UNICEF

Surging conflict and political upheaval across the Middle East and North Africa are preventing more than 13 million children from going to school, a report issued by the UN child rights agency UNICEF said on Thursday.

The report, "Education Under Fire," focuses on the impact of violence on schoolchildren and education systems in nine countries that have been directly or indirectly impacted by violence in recent years.

According to the report, attacks on schools and education infrastructure are one key reason why many children do not attend classes.

The report said that in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya alone, nearly 9,000 schools are out of use because they have been damaged, destroyed, are being used to shelter displaced civilians, or have been taken over by parties to the conflict.

Conflicts also drive thousands of teachers to abandon their posts, or keep parents from sending their children to school out of fear.

According to the report, in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, more than 700,000 Syrian refugee children are unable to attend school because the overburdened national education infrastructure cannot cope with the extra student load. Endit