Sanaa, March 26 (RHC)-- Children made up one-quarter of civilian casualties over the last three years in the Saudi-led war against Yemen.  More than 2,300 children were killed between 2018 and 2020, Save the Children said in a new study.  However, the aid agency said the actual toll is likely to be much higher.

“This is a man-made disaster resulting from a conflict that is being waged with near-complete disregard for the wellbeing and safety of the civilian population,” according to Gabriella Waaijman, global humanitarian director for Save the Children.  “Almost every day we hear of children and families caught up in the fighting, often paying with their lives.” 

Save the Children’s report comes on the heels of a UNICEF statement issued last week, saying eight children were killed and 33 wounded this month alone.   Philippe Duamelle, UNICEF’s representative to Yemen, said the casualties happened in several areas where fighting has recently intensified.

Like other relief agencies, the London-based Save the Children deplored plummeting funding levels for relief efforts in the war-stricken country.  The group said its funds for aid to children in Yemen has dropped by more than 40 percent compared with last year.

Observers say that if the United Nation's predictions are correct, the worst famine in decades could kill hundreds of thousands of children in the coming years.  Since the Saudi Arabia-led coalition militarily intervened in Yemen in March 2015, tens of thousands of people have been killed and much of the impoverished country’s infrastructure has been destroyed.