Four children aged between 10 and 15 years old were killed in a mine explosion in the Yemeni city of Hodeidah, which is under the control of the Houthi terrorist group, in the west of the country, a medical source and a father of two children. The victims told AFP today, Friday.
The medical source, who is the director of the hospital, said the accident happened yesterday, Thursday, when children were walking on dirt ground in the south of the city, close to Hodeidah Airport overlooking the Red Sea, where mines create a permanent obstacle. threat to the population.
The source explained, “The number of children is seven, and they were walking in the same direction, three in front, one walking behind and three behind. Three children who were walking in front were killed as a result of one of them was blown up by a mine, while the child who was walking behind them alone was injured and was taken to the hospital, where he died.
He added that the other three children were unharmed, noting that the ages of the dead were 10, 13, 14 and 15.
Yahya Abdullah, the father of two children killed in the accident, said: “The children went out in the morning while their parents were sleeping and entered the dusty areas. The surviving children came and told us about the accident, so I went and found one of my two sons injured but alive, and his brother was dead.”
“I covered his stomach after he received a shrapnel wound to the stomach and took him to the hospital, but he died in the operating room,” he added.
The conflict in Yemen has been fought since 2014 between the Houthis, who control Sana’a and other areas in the north and west of the country, and government forces backed by a Saudi-led military coalition. According to the United Nations, the war resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths either directly or as a result of its consequences.
The rebels control Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, including the Red Sea town of Hodeidah, which has a port that is a lifeline for millions of Houthi residents.
In early June, the United Nations announced that 19 civilians had been killed and 32 injured during the truce in Yemen since April, mostly due to mines, improvised explosive devices or unexploded ordnance.
