A scathing report released by the United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF) has said children are the principal target of Saudi attacks on Yemen, the region’s poorest country.
UNICEF warns some 320,000 children risk severe malnutrition as 82 percent of population requires humanitarian aid.
The UNICEF report, titled "Childhood on the Brink", says nearly a third of the more than 3,000 civilians killed in the Saudi-led war on Yemen have been children. The UNICEF figures of dead are grossly under-reported. The actual death toll is more than 8,000 but it is clear that children—the most vulnerable segment of the population—face the greatest risk.
The UN Children’s body further said that six children are killed or injured on a daily basis in Yemen. This is seven times higher that figures compiled for 2014.
"Children are paying the highest price for a conflict not of their making. They have been killed or maimed across the country and are no longer safe anywhere in Yemen. Even playing or sleeping has become dangerous." This was stated by Julien Harneis, UNICEF's representative in Yemen.
According to the UN agency, nearly 10,000 children under five may have died in the past year from preventable diseases, as a result of the decline in access to vaccines and other key health services. This is the direct result of Saudi-led attacks on Yemen’s infrastructure including hospitals, other healthcare facilities and schools.