Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News, 2014-03-14

Lionel Messi, the Argentine and FC Barcelona football star has turned to Facebook to raise awareness about the plight and suffering of the children in Syria.

“Don't let the #childrenofsyria lose another year to bloodshed and suffering,” Messi wrote on Facebook on Wednesday, March 12.

Messi urged his fans to sign a petition to world leaders calling for “an end to the violence against Syrian children, an end to the blocking of humanitarian aid, an end to attacks on humanitarian workers, schools and hospitals, [and] more investment in education and psychological protection for all children affected.”

Messi’s message, posted both in Spanish and English, was liked by more than 22,000 and 17,000 with a plethora of comments declaring praise and admiration for the football star.

“You are a great person before being a great player, God blesses you and your family,” Alaa Emara, a Facebook user from Egypt, commented on Messi’s post.

Another user said: "Respect from a Muslim .. thank you leo.."

Ammar Al-Ayyubi, from Syria said: “Much love for you from here #syria you are the best? i hope to meet you.”

“Totally agree and will sign. Children do not ask to born into conflict and war no matter what country they are from. NOTHING is gained by war,” Linda Kiernan wrote.

Last year Messi donated 100,000 euro (130,000 dollars) to the children of Syria.

The footballer has a charity providing education and healthcare to children and is a UN Goodwill Ambassador

According to the Spanish newspaper, Messi earned 300,000 euro during a tour with his FC Barcelona in North America. He decided to donate a third of the sum to the children in Syria who are innocent victims of the ongoing civil war.

In 2007 Messi established a foundation called "Lionel Messi" – a charity organization providing education and healthcare for children.

In an interview with fans, Messi said that "becoming famous has allowed me the opportunity to help people who really need it, especially children."

In March 2010 Messi was appointed Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, with the aim of supporting the rights of children.

The United Nations estimates that more than 100,000 people have been killed since the start of the Syrian civil war.

As the conflict in Syria enters its fourth year, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has released a new report that the number of children affected by the civil war in Syria has more than doubled over the past year.

UNICEF said the child casualty rates were the highest recorded in any recent conflict in the region.

It cited UN figures that at least 10,000 children have been killed in the Syrian war but noted that the real number is probably higher.

The opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said that more than 136,000 have been killed since a revolt against President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011.

The UNICEF report said 2 million children needed some form of psychological support or treatment while a total of 5.5 million children were affected by the conflict – some of them inside Syria and others living abroad as refugees.

This is more than twice the number of children affected by the conflict in March 2013, when UNICEF estimated it had impacted 2.3 million young Syrians.

The number of children displaced inside Syria has risen to nearly 3 million from 920,000 a year ago. Meanwhile, UNICEF said the number of child refugees has grown to 1.2 million from 260,000 since last year – 425,000 of them under 5 years old.- Agencies

(Twitter: @Faizie143)