Every Month 37 Yemeni Children Are Killed Or Injured By Foreign Bombs

At least 226 Yemeni children have been killed and 217 injured in air raids carried out by the Saudi-led Coalition in the last twelve months [i] – or 37 a month, according to a new analysis of open source data [ii] carried out by Save the Children. Of these children, 210 were inside or close to a house when their lives were torn apart by bombs that had been sold to the coalition by foreign governments [iii].

Almost 150 children were travelling by car or close to a car when they were hit, according to the data of the Civilian Impact Monitoring Project (CIMP), sometimes while fleeing for safety. The number of children killed and wounded is likely to be even higher as not all civilian casualties in Yemen are reported publicly.

According to the CIMP data, air strikes regularly killed or injured several children at once as they hit populated areas where the risk of civilian casualties was greater. On April 17th 2018, an airstrike reportedly hit a civilian family’s house in the port city of Hodeidah, killing a man, his wife and five of their children. On August 6th, 40 children were among 51 civilians killed when an airstrike hit a school bus in a local market. On March 10th of this year, more than ten children were reportedly killed when five houses were hit during an air raid.

Tamer Kirolos, Save the Children’s Country Director in Yemen, said: “The use of explosive weapons in populated areas is a cruel tactic as they indiscriminately destroy all in their path. It is impossible to imagine the terror a child must feel when a bomb drops on their home, yet many were killed or wounded while they sought safety in their homes or when they were fleeing from danger. No child should have to endure the terror of an air strike, yet it continues to happen, leaving deep physical and mental scars.”

“I heard the rocket coming, it went boom, after that I fainted. My father took me to the ambulance, and the ambulance took me to the hospital. After three days I woke up. (…) I wish the war would stop, things would calm down.”

Sameer sustained severe head injuries and had to have surgery. His arm is still paralyses.

“This brutal war has now been raging for four years. Yemen’s children have borne the brunt of this crisis, from being bombed in their schools and hospitals to being denied life-saving aid, their suffering must end.”

“Yemen is a textbook example of how every war is a war waged on children. We need to stop this war on children now and are demanding that all warring parties and governments abide by international law – that means schools and hospitals should be safe, explosive weapons should never be used in populated areas, and arms should not be sold where there is a risk they will be used to breach international law. Anyone who breaks the rules of war must be held to account and children must get the support and aid they need to recover from the physical and invisible wounds of war.”

Save the Children