Children Hit Hard by Conflict in Yemen

According to a new report by the UN children’s agency UNICEF, the conflict in Yemen has killed nearly 400 children since the end of March, and a similar number of children have been recruited by armed groups as child soldiers.

“This conflict is a particular tragedy for Yemeni children. Children are being killed by bombs or bullets and those that survive face the growing threat of disease and malnutrition. This cannot be allowed to continue.” Julien Harneis, UNICEF Representative in Yemen, said.

The new UNICEF report says about 10 million children, or half of the country’s population, need urgent humanitarian assistance.

It also says more than half a million pregnant women in Yemen’s hardest-hit areas are at higher risk for birth or pregnancy complications because they cannot get to medical facilities.

On Wednesday, The London-based rights group, Amnesty International, said that all sides fighting in Yemen have left a “trail of civilian death and destruction” in the conflict, killing scores of innocent people in what could amount to war crimes.

Yemen is the poorest country in the Arab world, and its population relies on imports for about 90 percent of its supplies. Attempts at UN-brokered humanitarian pauses to bring in aid have failed.

• Pray for children in Yemen, for protection, healing and hope for their future.
• Pray for an end to the conflict in Yemen, and for aid, food and medical help to reach those who desperately need it.
• Pray for Yemen, for hope for the future for its people, for healing, and for Gospel to be heard and responded to in this needy nation.

Psalm 9 vs 18: “For the needy shall not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor perish for ever.”

Source: www.aljazeera.com/news