http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041022/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_scarred_children&cid=540&ncid=1473BAGHDAD, Iraq - For the children of Baghdad, it's a cruel dilemma: Cooped up at home for fear of violence and kidnapping, they can't even go down the street for ice cream, and many are under strict orders to stay away from U.S. soldiers lest they get caught in the crossfire.
But when the soldiers hand out candy, sneakers and footballs, the temptation can be enormous — and fatal.
Mohammed Hamid learned that lesson when the Americans came to the al-Amel neighborhood to dedicate a new sewage system. The 9-year-old joined the rush of kids to the soldiers, snagged some candy and traded a worthless Iraqi bank note bearing Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s image for a dollar bill.
Then two car bombs went off and 35 children, 30 of them Mohammed's schoolmates, were killed.
The tragedy that befell al-Amel three weeks ago highlighted the predicament of Iraq (news - web sites)'s children who, after years of deprivation caused by more than a decade of harsh U.N. sanctions, are now caught in a conflict that is robbing them of their childhood — even their lives.
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