Children in Yemen continue to suffer as a result of the war that has been raging in the country for more than seven years.
One consequence of the war is the number of landmines found across the country, one of which has killed two children and injured a third in the Marib governorate.
The two children killed were Saqr Muhammad Sinan, 8 years old, and Qaid Abdullah Khima, 12 years old.
According to previous statements from Yemeni officials, the number of mines in the country now exceeds 2 million
Over the past seven years, Yemenis have suffered the consequences of continuous war between forces loyal to the government, as backed by a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia, and the Iran-backed Houthi forces, who have controlled various governorates including that of the capital, Sanaa, since September 2014.
The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has said that “since the escalation of the conflict in Yemen, the UN has verified the killing and injury of more than 10,200 children”, though added that “the actual numbers are likely to be much higher.”
A report by UN experts submitted to the Security Council and published in January this year reported on the large-scale recruitment of children as soldiers. The authors claimed that they possessed a list of 1,406 children, between the ages of 10 and 17, who had been recruited by the Houthis and who had been killed on the battlefield in 2020 alone.
