Save the Children has begun assisting two sisters, Shadia*, 2 and Wafa*, 6, who have been orphaned and badly injured following an airstrike that hit near their parents’ vehicle, close to the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah.
The attack, which took place on Tuesday, killed their parents and two of their aunts as they were travelling to the Yemeni city that has become the latest front line in the three-year war to control the Middle East’s poorest country.
The two girls suffered horrific burns and were badly wounded by shrapnel after a missile exploded near their car, setting it ablaze. Passers-by were able to pull the girls from the wreckage.
Save the Children is covering the girls’ medical bills and also providing financial support to the wider family so they can visit the children and support them in their recovery.
Following the attack, Dr. Mariam Aldogani, Save the Children’s field manager in Hodeidah said:
“Save the Children staff have just come back from visiting the girls caught up in this horrific attack. The youngest girl is just two years old and was conscious when our staff saw her. All she could do was cry out for her mother in vain. Her elder sister has been in and out of consciousness since the incident. She has suffered a head injury, been hit by shrapnel all over her body and received serious burns to parts of her body.
“These girls are among the latest victims in this senseless war. They’ve lost so much, at such a young age, with both their parents and two aunts taken from them in an instant.
“Far too many families in Hodeidah are enduring unimaginable suffering right now as a result of this assault. The roads are crowded with people trying to get out, but not everyone can afford to make it to safety. Our staff are telling us that bus fares have doubled and gas is expensive and difficult to find. Shops are closed, there are tanks and soldiers in the streets and warplanes dropping bombs from above. Water in some districts has run out and far too many children do not have enough to eat.”
Bill Chambers, President and CEO of Save the Children in Canada, said:
“This blatant disregard for civilian lives—by all parties to this conflict—must stop, and those found to be violating international law must be held to account. We call on the international community to condemn the attack, and to urgently press the parties to the conflict to end the fighting now, and come to the negotiating table once and for all to find a political solution to the conflict.”
*names have been changed
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