London: The UNICEF said that at least 10,000 children have been killed or maimed since 2015 in the Iran-backed Houthi militia war against Yemen's legitimate government, Arab News reported. The count is equivalent to four children every day, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said on Tuesday. The United Nation's child agency revealed the information after its team visited Yemen.
The figure only includes the count of child victims known to the agency, while the rest of the age groups are countless. The Houthis reportedly have recruited thousands of children to fight and sent them to frontlines in battles. The UNICEF demanded an end to the fighting and pleaded for fund's to keep its work going on in Yemen.
Elder said that the agency would be forced to scale down its vital assistance for vulnerable children without funding. Also, the war must come to an end in Yemen. Without more international support, innocent children who bear no responsibility for this crisis will die, he said.
Elder further said that the Humanitarian crisis in Yemen is a tragic convergence of violent-protracted conflict, economic devastation, shattered services of every support system- health, nutrition, water and sanitation, education, protection and also the UN's underfunded response.
He points out that four out of every five children- more than 11 million-need humanitarian assistance. 4 lakh children suffered from malnutrition, two million were out of school, while another 4 million were at risk of dropping out.
Meanwhile, the United States stated on Tuesday that ending the conflict in Yemen is an American foreign policy priority. The US state department informed that the US secretary of the state, Antony Blinken and the UN's newly appointed envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundenberg, discussed efforts to engage parties and secure a ceasefire, restart the political process and ensure accountability for human rights violations and abuses.