Landmine explosion kills 2 children in central Yemen

SANAA, Yemen (AA) – Two Yemeni children were killed by a landmine explosion in the central Bayda province, according to a local NGO on Wednesday.

The two children lost their lives when the device exploded as they were grazing their sheep in al-Zaher district in the province, the Yemeni Landmine Records said in a statement.

The NGO, which documents victims of mines and unexploded ordnance in Yemen, didn’t blame any group for the deaths.

UN estimates that over two million landmines were planted across war-torn Yemen.

Last month, Yemen’s warring rivals agreed to extend the UN-brokered truce for two additional months. Under the truce, which was first reached on April 2, all military operations were halted. The agreement also allowed the operation of commercial flights from rebel-held Sanaa Airport in the Yemeni capital.

Yemen has been engulfed by violence and instability since September 2014, when Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

The Saudi-led coalition entered the war in early 2015 to restore the Yemeni government to power.

The eight-year conflict has created one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with millions suffering from hunger.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar