SIX MONTHS OF YEMEN VIOLENCE KILLED 505 CHILDREN: UN

Geneva, 21 Dhulhijjah 1436/5 October 2015 (MINA) –  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 Friday.

“Across the country, nearly 10 million children — 80 per cent of the country’s under-18 population — need urgent humanitarian assistance,” UNICEF said in a statement, Anadolu Agency quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

“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 UN said on Tuesday.

Yemeni civilians have been caught up in fighting since March 26, when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched an air campaign against the Shia Houthi militant group. (T/P010/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)