By Hamdi Yildiz

ADEN, Yemen (AA):  A total of 1,171 civilians in Yemen were either killed or wounded last year, a commission said Sunday. The National Commission of Inquiry said in a statement that there was a significant increase in direct and indirect attacks against civilians in 2021.

It said 403 civilians, including 30 women and 48 children, lost their lives in such attacks during the period and 768 civilians were wounded, including 85 women and 167 children.

While noting that 296 civilians died due to the explosion of mines and explosive materials, the statement did not include further information on who was responsible for the attacks. Yemen has been engulfed by violence and instability since 2014, when the Ansar Allah [Houthi] movement captured much of the country, including the capital Sana’a.

A Saudi-led coalition aimed at reinstating the Yemeni government worsened the situation, causing one of the world’s worst man-made humanitarian crises, with nearly 80% or about 30 million people needing humanitarian assistance and protection and more than 13 million in danger of starvation, according to UN estimates.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar

[Photo: United Nations reported that 400 thousand children under the age of 5 are in danger of starving to death this year in Yemen, where there is a humanitarian crisis. A child weakened by malnutrition is treated at Al Sabeen Hospital in Sana’a, the capital of Yemen, on 1 December 2021. Photo: Mohammed Hamoud]