The figures released on Monday by the UN on the war in Yemen show the extent of the tragedy. More than 11,000 children have been killed, mutilated or injured since 2015 and nearly 4,000 have been enlisted in the conflict that has ravaged this country for more than eight years.
The poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen has been devastated since 2014 by a conflict between the Houthis, rebels backed by Iran, and pro-government forces backed by a military coalition led by neighboring Saudi Arabia. Among the 11,019 minor victims, 3,774 died, said the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The previous assessment of the UN agency reported more than 10,200 children killed, injured or crippled.
Unicef seeks $484.4 million
These new figures, covering the period from March 2015 to September 30, 2022, only take into account cases verified by the organization. The real balance sheet is therefore “probably much higher”, notes UNICEF.
During this period, 3,995 children were recruited: 3,904 boys to take part in the fighting and 91 girls at checkpoints or to participate in certain events. In addition, “hundreds of thousands (of children) are at risk of death from preventable illnesses or starvation”, says UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, who reiterates a call for humanitarian aid for Yemen. Unicef says it has an “urgent need” of 484.4 million dollars (460 million euros) to respond to the humanitarian crisis.
A fragile truce
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for its part estimated in November 2021 that at the end of 2021, the war would have caused the death of nearly 377,000 people, victims of the conflict and its consequences: hunger, disease, lack of drinking water…
A truce, in effect from April, renewed twice, expired in early October without the Yemeni government and the Houthi rebels reaching an agreement to extend it. Two months after the end of this truce, the fighting has not resumed but a series of attacks by Houthi rebels against oil terminals raise fears of a new escalation. According to Unicef, at least 62 children lost their lives in October and November.