900 Yemeni children killed in 2015: UNICEF

By Ali Owaida

MARIB, Yemen

The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said Monday that 900 children were killed during the armed conflict in Yemen last year.

“In the past year, the United Nations verified a significant increase in grave violations against children by all parties to the conflict in Yemen,” UNICEF said in a statement. “The children of Yemen are bearing the brunt of a brutal conflict.”

“The incidents that the United Nations was able to verify represent the tip of the iceberg, but they do reveal some very concerning trends,” the statement added.

Fractious Yemen has remained in turmoil since September 2014, when the Shia Houthis overran capital Sanaa and a number of other parts of the country.

Saudi Arabia says its campaign in Yemen was launched in response to appeals by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who temporarily sought refuge in Riyadh after Sanaa fell to the Houthis.

By Ali Owaida

MARIB, Yemen

The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said Monday that 900 children were killed during the armed conflict in Yemen last year.

“The incidents that the United Nations was able to verify represent the tip of the iceberg, but they do reveal some very concerning trends,” the statement added.

Fractious Yemen has remained in turmoil since September 2014, when the Shia Houthis overran capital Sanaa and a number of other parts of the country.

Saudi Arabia says its campaign in Yemen was launched in response to appeals by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who temporarily sought refuge in Riyadh after Sanaa fell to the Houthis.