The United Nations said on Wednesday that more than 10,000 children were killed or maimed in conflicts across world last year, with at least half of the deaths have been caused by Saudi-led coalition launching aggression on Yemen.

In a reported, the UN said that more than 10,000 children were killed or maimed amid armed conflicts worldwide last year, while others were raped, forced to serve as armed soldiers or caught in attacks on schools and hospitals.

A total of more than 21,000 violations of children’s right were reported in 2017—a sharp increase from the previous year, according to the annual “Children and Armed Conflict” report.

The UN blames a US-backed Arab coalition fighting in Yemen for at least half of the more than 1,300 child deaths or injuries recorded in that poor nation. They were victims of aerial and ground attacks by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Yemen.

“The point is, these kids should not be treated like children of a lesser God; they deserve the same rights as every kid to live their lives at least meaningfully and to be given a chance at recovery,” said Virginia Gamba, the U.N. special representative for children and armed conflict.

She said the report left U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres feeling “outraged.”

The 21,000 violations of children’s rights included 10,000 who were slain or maimed, especially in Iraq, Myanmar, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen, the report said.

Source: Agencies