At Least 115 Children Killed as a Result of War in Yemen

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Yemen said there were 7.9 million children among the 15.9 million people – 60 per cent of the total population – in need of humanitarian assistance in war-torn Yemen. The increasing violence in Yemen is taking an intolerable toll on children. UNICEF stated that at least 115 children have been killed and 172 maimed as a result of conflict in Yemen since 26 March. It believes that these are conservative numbers as the verification process is ongoing and that the total number of children killed or maimed is likely to be higher.

Arab coalition forces have been pounding Yemen with airstrikes since March 26. Their assault has not been limited to military sites or the main target of the campaign, the Houthis, who had taken control of Yemen's capital Sana'a in January.

There is also massive destruction in the beautiful southern port city Aden, where the Houthis have been launching their response along with militias loyal to Yemen's former president, Ali Abdulla Saleh, who was forced to step down after three decades in power, following popular protests in 2011.

As usual children are the ones most traumatised and victimised in any war, yet in the war in Yemen, some of them are both soldiers killing and victims being killed.

Julien Harneis, Unicef’s representative in Yemen, said:

We are seeing children in battle, at checkpoints and unfortunately among [those] killed and injured,” during a stop in Geneva…There are children dying in bombings in the north … and by very intense battles in Aden and Daleh. All of the parties to the conflict are to blame

He added, staff of Unicef and its partners had estimated that around 30 per cent of fighters in the armed groups were minors:

Children fighting

Defending their homes

Injured and killed by it

Loosing families and homes

Traumatised by it

Hisham Al-Omeisy ( gives a first hand recount of how his children are traumatised to BBC World Service Radio:

Carrying the burden

Hoping for peace

A cry for peace from the children of Yemen to their rulers and to the world to end the war.

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