Saudi War on Yemen Claims Lives of 1,400 Children, Says UN
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Nearly 1,400 children have been killed, hundreds more injured and many schools closed by the Saudi-led war in Yemen, the UN children's fund said.
"Attacks on civilian areas continue to kill and injure scores of children in Yemen," said UNICEF's representative in Yemen, Meritxell Relano, on Wednesday.
"Instead of learning, children are witnessing death, war and destruction," she added, warning that the actual casualty toll was likely to be much higher than the verified figures.
"Schools have to be zones of peace at all times, a sanctuary where children can learn, grow, play and be safe," Relano said.
"Children should never risk their lives only to attend school."
She said that nearly 2,000 schools in Yemen can no longer be used because they have been damaged, destroyed or are used as shelters or for military purposes.
Yemen’s defenseless people have been under massive attacks by the coalition led by the Saudi regime for more than 21 months but Riyadh has reached none of its objectives in Yemen so far.
Since March 2015, the kingdom and some of its Arab allies have been launching deadly airstrikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in an attempt to restore power to the fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.
More than 10,000 Yemenis, including 4,000 women and children, have lost their lives in the deadly military campaign.