Local Editor
Yemen could become a new breeding ground for child soldiers, UNICEF has warned, as the rise of extreme violence around the world undermines efforts to end the practice.
Twenty years on from a landmark report that put child soldiers on the global agenda, UNICEF says tens of thousands of children are engaged in warfare, as conflicts rage in the Middle East and East Africa.
Around a third of combatants in Yemen’s civil war are children, UNICEF estimates. Warring sides have recruited children to fight on their behalf in the 11-month war, which has so far killed at least 2,800 civilians.
Children as young as 14 are fighting on the front line, according to a UNICEF report to be formally published today.
Meanwhile, the widespread destruction of schools and infrastructure in the Saudi-led bombardment of the country is further encouraging more children to pick up guns and fight, in exchange for pay of between £3 to £6 a day.
Yemen has been under military attacks by Saudi Arabia since late March last year. The Saudi military strikes were launched to supposedly undermine the Ansarullah movement and bring the fugitive former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, back to power.
At least 8,278 people, among them 2,236 children, have been killed and 16,015 others injured since March 2015. The strikes have also taken a heavy toll on the impoverished country’s facilities and infrastructure, destroying many hospitals, schools, and factories.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
