Hamza*, 16, with his brother Hani*, 12, outside their home in Amran, Yemen. Hamza, helps provide for his mother and five siblings. He was injured on the first day of airstrikes in Sana'a when a shell injured him and broke his leg.
Three Years of War in Yemen
FAIRFIELD, Conn. (March 26, 2018)— Monday, March 26, 2018 marks three years since the start of the escalation of conflict in Yemen. In observance of the day, Tamer Kirolos, Save the Children’s Yemen Country Director, said:
"For the last three years, Yemeni children have been bombed and starved with utter impunity. Thousands have died in their homes or in hospitals as they waited in vain for medicines or lifesaving equipment to reach them. Tens of thousands more could die this year alone if urgent action is not taken to end the violence.
"Children who once felt they had a future have seen their cities and their dreams turned to rubble. Half of all hospitals have now been damaged or destroyed, hundreds of schools have been levelled or attacked, and four million children are on the brink of famine.
"The saddest thing is that all of this suffering is completely man-made. All we need is political will from all the warring parties to end the bloodshed and to fully relax the blockade so that humanitarian and commercial supplies can enter the country. Without this, the fourth year of Yemen’s war will likely be its deadliest yet."
KEY FACTS—3 YEARS ON
- There have been more than 15,000 airstrikes since the beginning of the conflict.
- More than 5,000 children have been killed or injured in the violence – an average of five children every day since March 2015.
- 1,698 children across Yemen have been affected by grave child rights violations since October 2016, in addition to children being killed. Children as young as 10 have been recruited to fight by parties to the conflict, according to the latest UN figures.
- At least 8,700 civilians have been killed and 50,000 injured in what the UN describes as an "entirely manmade catastrophe."
- There have been 606 cases of recruitment and use of children by parties of the conflict since October 2016
- 1.9 million children are out of school, depriving them of an education and exposing them to the risk of child recruitment into armed groups and armed forces, or early marriage
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