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Yemen. A forgotten and overlooked war and tragedy

Yet another example of the world looking away from, and ignoring, an unfolding disaster - Yemen!  

"In a situation that can only be described as 'beyond bleak,' the combined threats of war, food shortages, and an acute water crisis in Yemen have come together to put the Middle East's poorest nation on the brink of one of the world's most ignored humanitarian disasters.

Amnesty International said this week that likely war crimes on all sides of Yemen's ongoing fighting are leaving a "bloody trail of civilian death and destruction" in the poverty-stricken nation. In addition, the U.N. Food Program on Wednesday warned of famine while the international aid group UNICEF announced that young people are experiencing the brunt of the conflict with an average of eight children being killed or maimed every single day.

"This conflict is a particular tragedy for Yemeni children," said Julien Harneis, the UNICEF representative in Yemen. "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."


In its new report—Yemen: Childhood Under Threat—UNICEF says that nearly 400 children have been killed and over 600 others injured since the violence escalated in March of this year.

Ertharin Cousin, head of the U.N.'s World Food Program, told reporters that while some food aid is flowing in, ongoing battles near major ports are stalling deliveries and the ability of aid agencies to reach the country's interior is proving increasingly difficult.  A recent assessment by the agency showed that lack of food and water is putting Yemen "one step away from famine levels." Food insecurity and water scarcity are most severe for the country's 1.3 million internally displaced people, the group said."

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