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Ongoing war in Yemen further endangering children's lives: UN

Xinhua, January 12, 2016 Adjust font size:

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) highlighted on Tuesday the growing threats faced by Yemeni children as deadly bombardments and street fighting add to disease and deprivation prevalent in the war-torn country.

"What we need above all in Yemen is an end to the conflict," UNICEF spokesman Christophe Boulierac iterated amid figures showing that some 10 million children inside the country face both pain and suffering as 2016 gets underway.

UN-confirmed statistics reveal that 747 children have lost their lives since the conflict erupted in March last year, while a further 1,108 have been injured.

Some 724 children are also thought to have been forced by warring factions to partake in some form of military activity.

"Children make up at least half of the 2.3 million people estimated to have been displaced from their homes," UNICEF representative in Yemen Julien Harneis said in a statement.

"1.3 million children under five face the risk of acute malnutrition and acute respiratory tract infections. And at least 2 million children cannot go to school," he added.

Health, water and sanitation services have also been affected by the conflict pitching Houthi rebels against a Saudi-led coalition, meaning that the needs of an increasingly desperate population are not being met. Endit