Sana'a (Debriefer) - The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen is responsible for the death and injury of more than 44,000 civilians in the war-torn country since March 2015, the Iranian-backed Houthi group said Tuesday.
Arab coalition direct bombing left 17,097 civilians killed, including 3,821 children and 2,892 women, and more than 27,000 others injured, the Houthi health ministry said in a statement.
523 health facilities were completely or partially damaged and 100 ambulance cars were bombed by coalition warplanes, it added noting that 50 percent of health facilities are now dysfunctional.
The coalition's blockade on Yemen is to blame for increase in death rate among under-5 children to 300 per day, according to the statement.
Due to siege, 8,000 women die annually and 1.8 million others are malnourished. Over 2.6 million under-5 children are malnourished and 500,000 others risk severe malnutrition, the ministry said.
"In governorates targeted with forbidden weapons, hospitals registered higher rates of newborns suffering deformity," it claimed, noting that more than 5,500 children with such cases cannot travel abroad because of the closure of Sana'a airport.
More than 1,500 health facilities and 400 blood banks and laboratories risk work stoppage following lack of fuel, the statement read, accusing the coalition of denying oil tankers access to the Houthi-held port city of Hodeida.
