In the annual report of the United Nations Secretary General on Children and Armed Conflict for the year 2015, the Saudi government was identified as responsible for more than half of the killings of children in Yemen.
The United Nations verified a sixfold increase in the number of children killed and maimed compared with 2014, totalling 1,953 child casualties (785 children killed and 1,168 injured). More than 70 per cent were boys. Of the casualties, 60 per cent (510 deaths and 667 injuries) were attributed to the Saudi Arabia-led coalition and 20 per cent (142 deaths and 247 injuries) to the Houthis. In 324 incidents, the responsible party could not be identified.
In the annex to the report Saudi government was included in a list of forces harming children all over the World.
Protest against the Saudi-led coalition outside the offices of the United Nations in Yemen’s capital Sanaa August 11, 2015.
Reuters/Khaled Abdullah.