This portrait of a wounded schoolgirl tells the story of the horrific toll on innocents caught in the cross-fire on the frontline of Syria's brutal civil war.She was photographed in an Aleppo clinic by Swedish freelance photographer Niclas Hammarström, whose work has just earned him Unicef's Photo of the Year award.A panel of judges hailed the picture for highlighting the plight of youngsters in war-torn Syria.Mr Hammarström met Dania Kilsi in October 2012 while spending a day covering the struggles of medical staff treating the wounded at Dar-al-Shifa hospital.The 11-year-old had been playing outside with her brother and sister when she was hit in the face by shrapnel from an exploding shell.The photo shows Dania's head being cradled in her oldest brother's hands while her wounds are dressed. She was able to return home shortly after, but the hospital was destroyed just a few months later.After three years of civil war, almost half of Syria's children live in a state of acute emergency, according to Unicef estimates.About three million children no longer attend school and there is hardly on among them who has not faced violence and destruction or lost a family member.Due to the destruction of the medical infrastructure, the agency warns, wounded civilians can no longer be treated and hitherto well-managed diseases such as polio are on the rise. Mr Hammarström told Der Spiegel: 'I was spending 24 hours in the hospital documenting the work of the doctors there, particularly when it came to injured children.'About 350 patients were in the clinic that day, there was a lot of blood. There were people shot and wounded, people missing arms and legs, children with severe burns, or even cases like Dania.'Despite being badly bloodied, Dania was thankfully not badly hurt.'She had played with her ​​siblings outside and was hit by shrapnel in the face,' said Mr Hammarström. 'Luckily there were probably no serious injuries. They were treated in the hospital [and] after an hour they could go back.'Syria is currently one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists, with 30 killed covering its civil war last year. In 28 cases the motive was confirmed to be linked to their newsgathering activities.Mr Hammarström, a father of three, was last November kidnapped and held hostage along with another journalist for six weeks, during which he was tortured.He was only released at the beginning of this year, and prefers not to talk about his ordeal.Mr Hammarström's photo is the 14th winner of Unicef's Photo of the Year award, organised each year by the agency's German committee in cooperation with GEO Magazine.Daniela Schadt, patroness of UNICEF Germany, said: 'The Photo of the Year shows the face of the Syrian civil war - the face of an injured and severely traumatized child.'The look on the child's face is an appeal to the international community to strengthen its diplomatic and humanitarian efforts in order to prevent the loss of an entire generation of children.'Jury chairman Professor Klaus Honnef added: 'The photo series of Unicef's competition captures more than meets the eye. They also succeed in summarising and analysing the story behind the picture.'They enable us to better understand the reality of children under very different circumstances.'Unicef provides help to children on both sides of the conflict, in Syria and refugees who have fled to its neighbouring countries.Unicef, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Mercy Corps, Save the Children and World Vision are asking people across the world to voice their outrage at the devastating impact of the Syria's war on children.Sign their petition at Change.org to add your voice to the call for world leaders to stop a whole generation of Syria's children losing another year to bloodshed and suffering.(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az