More than 11,000 children have died or been injured in Yemen’s civil war since the conflict escalated nearly eight years ago, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) has revealed.
“The true toll of this conflict could be much greater,” Unicef said of one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
“Thousands of children have died and hundreds of thousands of people remain at risk of dying from preventable disease or starvation,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.
Some 2.2 million Yemeni children are malnourished, a quarter of them under the age of five, and most are at extreme risk of contracting cholera, measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases, according to UNICEF.
The war in Yemen broke out in 2014 and the Houthi rebels, supported by Iran, quickly took over the capital, Sana’a, which led to the intervention of an international force led by Saudi Arabia to support the government.
Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have died as a direct result of fighting, lack of clean water, disease outbreaks or starvation.
According to Unicef, 3,774 minors died between March 2015 and September 2022.
A truce mediated by the UN lasted six months, until October 2, and the parties involved in the conflict did not agree on an extension.
Since then, according to Unicef, at least 62 children have died or been injured.
“The urgent renewal of the truce would be a positive first step that would allow urgent humanitarian access,” Russell said.
“Only lasting peace will allow families to rebuild their shattered lives and start planning for the future,” he added.
The UN entity also highlighted that 3,904 children were recruited for the combats and more than 90 girls were incorporated to other functions, such as guarding checkpoints.
Unicef asked the international community for US$484.4 million to tackle the humanitarian crisis.
“If Yemen’s children are to have a chance at a decent future … those with influence must ensure they have protection and support,” Russell said.
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