A child is seen in a village for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Hajjah province, northern Yemen on Feb. 1, 2022.Photo:Xinhua

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) announced Saturday that 10,200 children were killed or injured since the conflict escalated in Yemen nearly seven years ago.

"The actual number is likely much higher," UNICEF Representative to Yemen Philippe Duamelle said in a statement.

A girl poses in a village for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Hajjah province, northern Yemen on Feb. 1, 2022.Photo:Xinhua

"Following the intensification of the conflict in 2021, violence has continued to escalate this year and as always children are the first and most to suffer," Duamelle said.

Just over the first two months of this year, 47 children were reportedly killed or maimed in several locations across Yemen, he added.

A Yemeni girl sits on a truck outside a charity in Midi district, Hajjah province, Yemen, on March 7, 2022.Photo:Xinhua

The statement noted that "violence, misery and grief have been commonplace in Yemen with severe consequences on millions of children and families. It is high time that a sustainable political solution is reached for people and their children to finally live in the peace they so well deserve."

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since the Houthi militia overran much of the country militarily and seized all northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa, in 2014.

A child walks in a village for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Hajjah province, northern Yemen on Feb. 1, 2022.Photo:Xinhua