Geneva, April 20: At least 26 children have been killed during violent protests in Yemen over the last two months, the UN children’s fund said on Tuesday.
Most died of wounds from live ammunition during clashes between security forces and anti-government demonstrators , said Unicef spokeswoman Marixie Mercado.
At least 36 more children have been wounded by live ammunition and 47 were injured with sticks or rocks, she said.
“We have absolutely no indication that the children were targeted, and we don’t know who shot them,” said Mercado. “They were participating in, or bystanders to, protests.”
Yemeni security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters in the second largest city on Tuesday, killing at least one, activists and medics said amid rising international concern over the strategically located nation.
The UNSC was scheduled to meet later Tuesday to discuss the deteriorating situation in Yemen, where rights groups say two months of protests calling for the president to step down have claimed 120 lives.
A government delegation also headed to nearby Abu Dhabi for talks with the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council over a proposal for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to transfer power to his deputy to end the crisis. The opposition held similar talks Sunday. Thousands of protesters were marching in the southern city of Taiz when security forces opened fire.
-Agencies