Local Editor
The United Nations put the coalition led by Saudi Arabia fighting in Yemen on a blacklist on Thursday over the deaths of hundreds of children in air strikes.
The coalition launched an air campaign in Yemen in March 2015 in a bid to restore back to power staunch ally, fugitive Yemeni president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
The resulting air strikes killed some 60 percent of the 785 children who were killed and 1,168 wounded in Yemen last year, a U.N. report issued by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said.
"Emerging and escalating crises had a horrific impact on boys and girls," a statement from the office of the U.N. envoy for children and armed conflict read.
"The situation in Yemen was particularly worrisome with a five-fold increase in the number of children recruited (by armed groups) and six times more children killed and maimed compared to 2014," it said.
Saudi Arabia began its deadly campaign against Yemen in late March 2015. The strikes were meant to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement and restore power to fugitive former president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
About 9,400 people have been killed and over 16,000 injured since Riyadh launched the airstrikes. The Saudi aggression has also taken a heavy toll on Yemen’s facilities and infrastructure.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
