Yemen War Forces 71,000 Children From Their Homes, UNICEF Says

Escalating fighting in Yemen has displaced nearly 130,000 people over the past three weeks, including about 71,000 children, while worsening access to healthcare and contributing to a sharp rise in acute malnutrition, UNICEF has warned.

UNICEF Yemen Country Representative Akhil Iyer said on Friday that the majority of those displaced were forced from their homes in or around Taiz Governorate in southwestern Yemen.

“Conflict drives hunger, and hunger makes children more vulnerable to conflict,” Iyer told reporters via videolink from Aden.

UNICEF mobile teams recently screened nearly 2,900 children in accessible areas, with more than one-quarter found to be acutely malnourished. About 200 children were suffering from severe acute malnutrition, the most serious category.

The UN agency warned that the figures represent only a limited snapshot of the crisis. Across Yemen, an estimated 2.2 million children under the age of five are projected to suffer acute malnutrition this year, including more than 500,000 expected to face severe acute malnutrition.

UNICEF has also verified that at least 15 children have been killed and 14 injured in the conflict since the beginning of September, while three others remain missing.

The fighting has also disrupted education, with 243 schools reportedly closing or suspending classes over the past three weeks, affecting nearly 140,000 students.

The latest escalation comes as Houthi forces have made significant territorial advances against Yemen’s internationally recognised government forces, including the capture of the strategic port city of Mocha and large areas along the Red Sea coast.

The renewed fighting has triggered further displacement, with tens of thousands of civilians fleeing their homes, while some have crossed the Red Sea towards Africa.

Iyer called on all parties to protect children and civilians, safeguard civilian infrastructure, respect international humanitarian law and ensure safe and unrestricted access for humanitarian organisations.

“We cannot keep asking children to survive what they should have never been exposed to in the first place,” he said.

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