Yemen: More children killed by landmines and other UXOs in first half of this year than all of 2025

New Save the Children analysis ^[1] found that more children in Yemen were killed by landmines and other unexploded ordnances (UXOs) in the first six months of this year than in all of 2025, underscoring the urgent need to protect children and clear deadly remnants of war.

The aid group’s analysis of data collected by the Civilian Impact Monitoring Project (CIMP), part of the Protection Cluster in Yemen, also found a 61% increase in both child deaths and injuries from landmines or UXOs from January to July this year compared to the same period in 2025. ^[2]

Landmines and UXOs killed and injured more children than other types of armed violence, such as small arms fire, airstrikes and shelling. According to the analysis, in the first half of this year, landmine or UXO incidents resulted in an average of 1.4 child casualties, compared to 0.18 child casualties per incident for other types of armed violence.

The news comes just one month after at least five children were killed and seven more injured by an unexploded ordnance (UXO) that detonated next to them while they were collecting scrap metal to sell. Save the Children supported some of these injured children, who have undergone multiple surgeries to extract shrapnel from their body and lower limbs.

Children in Yemen are three times more likely to be killed or injured by landmines and UXOs than adults, due to a lack of mine risk awareness and increased risk while engaged in hazardous work ^[3] – with UNICEF data showing that 12.5% of children aged 5-14 are engaged in child labor.

Save the Children International CEO Inger Ashing met victims of UXOs during a trip to Yemen this month when she visited a Child and Family Care Centre supported by the organization, which provides a safe space for children to play and access psychosocial support.

Ashing met Othman*, 16, from Aden, who was forced to flee his home due to the conflict. Due to economic desperation, he was out of school and working in a yard collecting scrap metal to help support his family. Last year, he lost his left leg in an explosion from a UXO hidden among the scrap metal. Othman was immediately taken to hospital, where he received emergency medical treatment and surgery.

Save the Children referred Othman to psychosocial support services and coordinated with a prosthetics center, where he received a prosthetic limb. His family received food and cash support to support his recovery and meet their urgent needs.

Othman* said: “I worked from the age of 12 until I was 15. One day, while I was working with some of my colleagues, an unexploded ordnance near us detonated.

“I lost consciousness immediately and remained unconscious for seven days. When I finally woke up, I was in the hospital, and my leg had been amputated.”

Despite his ordeal, Othman hopes to return to school one day:

“I always wished I could be in school, and I still dream of returning to my education. But because of our current circumstances, I can’t. If my family and I had the means, I would have been sitting in a classroom instead of working—and I would not have lost my leg.

“If I am given the opportunity to return to school, I will work hard to continue my education and become someone who can achieve great things in the future.

“There are still many children working in the same place where I was injured, risking their lives every day just to earn enough to survive.”

Othman receives support from Jihad, 30, from Taiz, who works at Save the Children providing psychosocial support for children with blast injuries. Jihad himself is a survivor of a landmine incident, which resulted in amputation of his leg and injury to his eye. When he witnessed eight children become injured by a mortar shell, Jihad decided to dedicate his life to helping children affected by war. Save the Children is also working to ensure that Othman returns to school and can enrol in vocational training.

Inger Ashing said:

"In meeting Othman I saw the devastating impacts of explosive weapons on children. He should have been in school, not risking his life collecting scrap metal to help his family survive. Instead, a hidden explosive left him with life-changing injuries and changed his future in an instant.

"Othman told me that he feels paralyzed by his circumstances – not due to disability, but because of his family’s economic situation. Despite everything he had endured, I was struck by how open and brave he was to share his story. Spaces like the Child and Family Care Centre supported by Save the Children provide a safe space for children like Othman to play, develop and simply be a child again.

“No child should have to risk their life to help feed their family or lose a limb because deadly weapons contaminate the areas where they live, play, and are forced to work. The international community cannot look away while children in Yemen are still paying the price with their lives due to the double threat from explosive war remnants and child labor.

“We urgently need greater investment to support children like Othman and ensure that their families are not forced to take children out of school and into hazardous work.”

Save the Children is calling on all parties to the conflict in Yemen to de-escalate the crisis, stop the use of explosive weapons and uphold international humanitarian law to prevent further harm to children and civilians.

It also called on international donors to increase funding for the clearance of UXOs, victim assistance and risk education initiatives that have been scaled back due to global aid cuts. Families also need more support for sustainable livelihoods so that children are not forced into work, putting them at risk.

Save the Children has been working in Yemen since 1963, implementing programs in education, child protection, health and nutrition, water and sanitation, and emergency response across most of the country. This includes specialized care and assistance for children injured by explosive weapons and mine risk education.

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[1] According to data from the Civilian Impact Monitoring Project, part of the Protection Cluster of NGOs in Yemen, 18 children were killed by landmines and UXOs in Yemen in 2025, and 20 children were killed by landmines and UXOs in the first six months of this year. So far in 2026, 123 children have been killed or injured due to armed violence (53 fatalities, 70 injuries). Full data available on request.

[2] 45 children have been killed or injured so far this year due to landmines and UXOs (20 fatalities, 25 injuries). In the first six months of 2025, 28 children were killed or injured in the first six months of 2025 (10 fatalities, 18 injuries)

[3] Between April 2022 and 25 March 2026, 511 of 1,182 children killed or injured as a result of armed violence were due to landmines or UXOs (43%). Of 6,051 adults killed or injured in the same period, 747 (12%) was a result of landmines or UXOs, based on analysis of data collected by the Civilian Impact Monitoring Project, a service of the UN Protection Cluster. Data available on request.

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