Two million Yemeni children out of school due to Saudi war: UNICEF

The United Nations children’s agency (UNICEF) estimates that two million children are out of school in Yemen, which has been the subject of a destructive Saudi-led military campaign for more than four years.

The United Nations children’s agency (UNICEF) estimates that two million children are out of school in Yemen, which has been the subject of a destructive Saudi-led military campaign for more than four years.

In a statement released on Wednesday, UNICEF representative in Yemen Sara Beysolow Nyanti said that a fourth of the two million Yemeni children have dropped out since the beginning of the Saudi war in March 2015.

She also warned that the education of a further 3.7 million children is at risk as teachers have not received their salaries for over two years, adding that one fifth of schools in Yemen can no longer be used as a direct result of the conflict.

“Violence, displacement and attacks on schools are preventing many children from accessing school,” Nyanti said.

The UNICEF representative further raised concerns about the future of Yemeni children out of school, saying they “face increased risks of all forms of exploitation including being forced to join the fighting, child labor and early marriage.”

Saudi Arabia and its allies launched a deadly military aggression against Yemen in an attempt to reinstall a Riyadh-backed former regime and eliminate the Houthi movement, which has been defending the country along with the armed forces.

The Western-backed offensive has further displaced millions and left 24.1 million — more than two-thirds of the Yemeni population — in need of aid.