UNICEF on Thursday warned that a rise in violence across Yemen has led to the forced displacement of more than 57,000 children, exacerbating an already severe humanitarian crisis caused by decades of civil war, economic collapse, climate shocks and a health system on the brink of collapse.
Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, highlighted the dire circumstances in which these children find themselves:
Children in Yemen have already experienced one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, and many have little experience other than conflict and displacement… Now, in just two weeks, tens of thousands of families have been displaced from their homes, many of them fleeing with only what they can carry. For children who have already endured hunger, displacement, etc. for years disrupted school lessonsThis latest violence is undermining what little stability they have left.
Since the beginning of September, the organization has reported that at least nine children have lost their lives, 12 have been injured and three are still missing, it said previous findings This highlights that 11,500 children have been either killed or injured since the conflict began in 2015. UNICEF noted that children living in Yemen are at risk Variety of challenges26 health facilities supported by the organization were affected by disruptions, while 243 schools were either closed or offered limited classes, affecting the learning progress of at least 137,000 students.
The agency has reiterated its commitment to provide assistance to children and families during this difficult time by providing urgent sanitation assistance, hygiene kits and water tanks. However, it was also noted that as violence increased, many children fled to Djibouti via the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. UNHCR stated that this trip puts these children at risk newly discovered risks These include exploitation by human traffickers, contracting communicable diseases such as scabies due to overcrowding in local settlements, possible drowning at sea due to the unreliability of boats, and separation from family.
Many of these children never make it safely to Djibouti due to their development heatstroke as a result of the extreme air temperatures which can reach up to 122°F in the summer months and surface water temperatures average over 68°F annually.
In February 2012 Mass demonstrations Protests erupted across Yemen among citizens dissatisfied with wide wealth inequality and the political longevity of then-President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s authoritarian regime. This ultimately led to his resignation and allowed his vice president to take power and begin implementing reforms. However, the Houthis, a Zaydi Shia minority group in Yemen, which had already fought six wars against the government from 2004 to 2010, felt excluded from the transition process that led to them start an uprising This led to an internal civil war in September 2014.
This in turn escalated into one comprehensive regional war in March 2015, after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates intervened to restore the internationally recognized government, which had lost control of much of the country. Human Rights Watch has previously condemned Houthi rebels for recruitment Child soldiers fight in the war, the violates particularly international humanitarian law Article 77 of Additional Protocol I and Article 38 the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
