Syrian campaigners use Pokemon Go to seek help for war affected children

Syrian news service, the Revolutionary Forces of Syria Media Office, has circulated images showing children apparently in war zones holding printouts of Pokemon characters, in a bid to turn the attention of the world to their plight in the war-torn country.

The campaign involving children in Syrian villages has latched on to the Pokemon Go craze, asking gamers in the west to take a break from their frenzied hunt for digital creatures to turn their attention to young people trapped in war zones, reports the Guardian.

Several children have been photographed holding up printouts with popular Pokemon characters, a location of Syria and a message to "come save me".

The locations given are near the cities of Hama and Idlib, which have seen years of heavy fighting and aerial bombardment and are currently held by forces opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Pokemon Go's location based augmented reality technology projects digital creatures on to the streets around a player as viewed on a smartphone.

The game has become enormously popular within a few days of its launch.