Civil war in Yemen: According to Unicef, 10,000 children have been wounded or killed so far

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War has been raging in Yemen since 2015

Photo: ARHAB / EPA-EFE / REX / Shutterstock

Yemen has been in a civil war for six years.

According to the United Nations Children's Fund Unicef, more than 10,000 minors have been killed or wounded in fighting since the fighting began in March 2015.

This is a "shameful milestone," said Unicef ​​spokesman James Elder on Tuesday in Geneva.

And these are only the cases that Unicef ​​has documented.

The true number is arguably higher because many cases are not reported.

The already very impoverished Yemen lies in ruins after years of civil war.

More than 20 million people are dependent on humanitarian aid.

According to the United Nations, the country is experiencing the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

According to Unicef, four out of five minors are dependent on humanitarian aid, a total of eleven million.

400,000 children are seriously malnourished.

“They are starving because adults are fighting a war in which children are the biggest losers,” Elder said.

More than two million minors were out of school.

1.7 million minors have been displaced through fighting and violence with their families.

15 million people, including 8.5 million minors, have no clean drinking water or access to sanitation.

Two thirds of the teachers, a total of more than 170,000 teachers, had not received a regular salary in the past four years.

In Yemen, war has been raging for six years between the troops of President Abd Rabbo Mansur Hadi, backed by Saudi Arabia and other Arab states, and the Houthi rebels.

Tens of thousands of people have already been killed and millions of residents have had to flee.

svs / dpa