Daily Times

The number of people with disabilities is soaring in Yemen after seven years of civil war, with amputations in particular rising from attacks on urban areas, the aid group Handicap International said Friday.

Millions have been forced from their homes in the brutal conflict pitting the Saudi-backed government against Iran-backed Huthi rebels, which has sparked widespread food shortages and ravaged the country’s infrastructure. “The rate of disabilities has skyrocketed since the beginning of the conflict,” said Yasmine Daelman, the lead author of a the Handicap International report that was provided to AFP.

Extensive use of explosive weapons in strikes, mines and stray bullets in populated areas have led to large numbers of amputations, according to the France-based group, and people with disabilities are always “the first to be forgotten”, Daelman said. Psychological traumas and mental health problems have also greatly increased as the war drags on, the report said.