UN: Six months of Yemen violence kills 505 children

GENEVA – Anadolu Agency

Yemeni children play next to damaged buildings in the southern city of Aden on September 27, 2015. AFP Photo

Six months of violence in Yemen has left at least 505 children dead, 702 injured and more than 1.7 million at risk of malnutrition, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Oct. 2.

“Across the country, nearly 10 million children -- 80 percent of the country’s under-18 population -- need urgent humanitarian assistance,” UNICEF said in a statement.

“With every day that passes, children see their hopes and dreams for the future shattered,” UNICEF Representative in Yemen Julien Harneis said.

According to UNICEF, the number of children under five years old at risk of severe acute malnutrition has tripled this year. Compared to 160,000 children before the conflict, around 537,000 children are now at risk of severe acute malnutrition.

At least 151 people have been killed in fighting in Yemen during the last two weeks, increasing the civilian death toll to 2,355 over the last six months, the U.N. said on Sept. 29.

Yemeni civilians have been caught up in the fighting since March 26, when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched an air campaign against the Shia Houthi militant group.