Some 5.5 million Syrian children fell victims to the three-year-old crisis in the war-torn country, said the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday.

Releasing a new report on the situation, UNICEF appealed for an immediate end to the violence and enhanced support for the affected.

In the report entitled as Under Siege--the devastating impact on children of three years of conflict in Syria, the UN agency stressed the immense damage caused to children by the ongoing armed conflicts.

It warned that the future of 5.5 million Syria children, with some 4.3 million children inside Syria and around 1.2 million having fled to neighboring countries as refugees, was threatened as violence, the collapse of health and education services, severe psychological distress and the worsening economic impact on families combined to devastate a generation.

UNICEF particularly underscored that up to 1 million children in Syria, who were trapped in besieged areas or the regions with hampered access to humanitarian aids, were hard hit by the continued violence, and moreover, some 2 million children were in need of psychological support or treatment.

The report pointed out that Syrian refugee children were in dire situations, estimating that one in 10 refugee children was working and one in every five Syrian girls in Jordan was forced into early marriage.

"This war has to end so that children can return to their homes to rebuild their lives in safety with their family and friends. This third devastating year for Syrian children must be the last," said Anthony Lake, UNICEF's Executive Director, in a statement.

The UN agency called for international community to call a halt to the violence in Syria, to grant immediate access to under-reached children living in the country, to boost the education and healthcare system and to provide support to host communities and governments to improve the conditions for Syria refugee children and families. Endi

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