Almost 1,200 children have been killed or injured in Yemen since the UN truce began in April 2022, according to a Save the Children analysis. At least 339 children died from shelling, gunfire, landmines, and unexploded ordnance, while 843 others suffered injuries — nearly half from explosive remnants that children encounter gathering firewood or tending livestock. Children face over three times the risk of adults from these hidden explosives due to limited awareness and economic pressures pushing them into hazardous tasks.
The truce has cut overall fighting, but landmine and unexploded ordnance casualties among children have risen sharply compared to pre-2022 levels. Blast injuries often cause permanent disability — amputations, blindness, spinal damage — with children recovering slower due to smaller bodies and facing intense psychological trauma like night terrors and constant fear. Six-year-old Kamal* from Taiz lost part of his leg and head to shrapnel in 2025 after playing with an unexploded device; his family now lives in fear after the blast happened inside their home.
Save the Children Yemen Director Rishana Haniffa warned that landmines silently kill and maim despite reduced hostilities, with nearly half of child casualties now from explosives found in homes, schools, and play areas. Amid Middle East escalation, Yemen risks renewed conflict that could unravel fragile progress and worsen the crisis for 12.2 million children needing aid — up 2.8 million from last year. The group treated 709 blast-injured children since 2022, including 199 from landmines.
Save the Children calls for de-escalation, an end to explosive weapons in populated areas, scaled-up risk education and victim assistance, and a regional ceasefire to protect Yemen’s children from further harm.
