Yemen conflict claimed life of over 2000 children; UNICEF condemns 'carnage'
Sana’a, July 4: The United Nations on Tuesday slammed devastating impact of Yemen's three-year conflict on children, with some 2,200 children killed, and many more going hungry, forced to fight or die due to preventable diseases. Notably, Yemen is facing worst crisis ever due to the dual attack including civil war and outbreak of cholera due to which thousands of Yemenis died.
The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) executive director, Henrietta Fore said that the relentless conflict in Yemen has pushed a country already on the brink deep into the abyss. She in a statement said, "what three years of intense war after decades of underdevelopment and chronic global indifference can do to children."
She further added that so far 2,200 children had been killed and 3,400 others injured. "These are only numbers we have been able to verify. “The actual figures could be even higher," Fore said adding that there is no justification for this carnage. Some 1,500 schools have been damaged in airstrikes and shellings in the past three years, she added.
In the end, Henrietta Fore called for all parties to the conflict and those with influence to rally behind efforts by the UN envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths to negotiate an end to the fighting in Hodeida and to relaunch peace talks for all of Yemen.
Nearly 10,000 people have died since a Saudi-led military coalition began fighting in Yemen in 2015 to restore the internationally recognized government to power after Iran-linked Houthi rebels took over Sanaa the year before.
Interestingly, with over 20 million people dependent on aid, Yemen is the world's single largest humanitarian crisis, now made even worse with the outbreak of cholera. Less than half the country’s hospitals are running and less than a third of the needed medicines are available due to which conditions are getting worst.
BACKGROUND:
In 2011, some 719,377 suspected cases of cholera were recorded in Haiti, and 8,767 people died, according to national figures cited by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. An epidemic late last year faded but outbreaks are frequent and made worse by the degrading of health and sanitation systems by more than two years of civil war that has also killed at least 10,000 people and displaced millions. Earlier, in 2011, some 719,377 suspected cases of cholera were recorded in Haiti, and 8,767 people died.