DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Forty-seven children were
"killed or maimed" in Yemen's civil war in January and February
following a surge in violence, the
UN children's fund said on Saturday.
اضافة اعلان
Children are the "first and most to
suffer",
UNICEF said, adding that a total of at least over 10,000 minors
have been killed or injured in a war that has raged since 2015.
"Just over the first two months of this
year, 47 children were reportedly killed or maimed in several locations across
Yemen," Philippe Duamelle, UNICEF representative to Yemen, said in a
statement.
"Since the conflict escalated in
Yemen nearly seven years ago, the UN verified that more than 10,200 children have
been killed or injured. The actual number is likely much higher."
Hundreds of thousands of people have died as
a direct or indirect consequence of Yemen's war between Iran-backed Huthi
rebels and a government forces backed by a Saudi-led military coalition.
In November, the
UN Development Program said
377,000 lives would have been lost through fighting, hunger, unclean water, and
disease by the end of 2021.
"Violence, misery, and grief have been
commonplace in Yemen with severe consequences on millions of children and
families," Duamelle said.
"It is high time that a sustainable
political solution is reached for people and their children to finally live in
the peace they so well deserve."
The conflict has caused a collapse in basic
services such as healthcare and education, with millions of people displaced,
and 80 percent of the population dependent on aid.
More than 2,500 schools are unusable,
according to UNICEF, as they have been destroyed, converted for military
purposes, or used to shelter the displaced.
A report released by the
UN Security Council in January said nearly 2,000 children recruited by the rebels had died on the
battlefield between January 2020 and May 2021.
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