Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/NEW YORK: The United Nations has said that more than 11,000 children are known to have been killed or maimed in the civil war in Yemen since it escalated nearly eight years ago.
UNICEF, Children’s agency about the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, said that the true toll of this tussle is likely to be far higher. UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell said that hundreds of thousands of children had lost their lives, and thousands remain at risk of death from preventable disease or starvation.
Yemeni Children
UNICEF said that about 2.2 million Yemeni children are acutely malnourished, one-quarter of them aged under 5, and most are at extreme risk from cholera, measles, and other vaccine-preventable diseases.
Yemen’s conflict broke out in 2014 and quickly saw Iran-backed Huthi rebels seize the capital Sanaa, prompting other forces to intervene to prop up the government the following year. The United Nation’s latest numbers confirm 3,774 child deaths between March 2015 and September 2022.
UN seeks $484.4m in aid to tackle crisis
UNICEF said that since then, at least 62 children had been killed or wounded.
The United Nations also said that 3,904 boys had been recruited into the fighting over the years and that more than 90 girls had been given roles, including working at checkpoints. UNICEF requested $484.4 million in aid to tackle the humanitarian crisis.
Russell said that if the youth of Yemen are to have any chance of a decent future, all those with influence must ensure they are protected and supported.
