Yemen fighting displaces 57,000 children in two weeks: UNICEF

The UN children's agency said late Wednesday that renewed hostilities across western Taiz, southern Al-Hudaydah, and Marib have displaced more than 104,000 people since Sept. 3, including over 57,000 children, with UNICEF Regional Director Edouard Beigbeder warning that the violence is destroying what little stability remained after years of conflict and hunger.

Casualties and service disruptions

At least nine children have been reported killed and 12 injured since the escalation began on Sept. 3, while three others remain missing following an attack on the road linking Yemen's western coast to Aden, according to the agency. The renewed fighting has disrupted access to essential services, with 26 UNICEF-supported health facilities reporting service interruptions and 243 schools either closed or suspending classes, affecting more than 137,000 students.

"Children in Yemen were already living through one of the world's most grave humanitarian crises," Beigbeder said. "Now, tens of thousands of families have been forced from their homes in just two weeks," he added, warning that the latest violence was "eroding what little stability" children had left after years of conflict, hunger, displacement, and disrupted education.

Emergency response

UNICEF said it was expanding its emergency response to reach up to 231,000 people affected by the escalation, supporting health facilities and distributing hygiene kits and water tanks in Taiz while providing additional supplies in Marib. The agency has redeployed nine health and nutrition mobile teams to displacement sites in Aden, Marib, and Taiz, with emergency water and sanitation assistance expected to reach more than 200,000 people with safe water, hygiene supplies, and urgent repairs to damaged systems.

The impact has also reached across the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, with more than 2,000 people, including many children, arriving in Djibouti after dangerous crossings marked by extreme heat, dehydration, and protection risks, UNICEF said. Even before the latest escalation, approximately 12.2 million children in Yemen were in need of humanitarian assistance, with more than 2.2 million children under 5 acutely malnourished and 3.2 million school-aged children out of school.

Conflict background

Around 17.8 million people lack adequate access to health care, water, and sanitation services, with only 60% of health facilities fully operational, according to the agency. UNICEF reiterated the UN secretary-general's call for all parties to protect civilians and facilitate safe humanitarian access, emphasizing that compliance with international humanitarian law remains essential.

Yemen has been mired in conflict since the Houthis seized Sanaa and several provinces in September 2014, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government.