'Contaminated' medicine kills at least 10 child cancer patients in Yemen

Contaminated medication smuggled into war-torn Yemen has killed at least 10 children being treated for leukaemia in the rebel-held capital Sanaa, local authorities said Friday.

"Ten children suffering from leukaemia have died" at the Kuwait Hospital, the Houthi rebels' health ministry said, adding they were among a group of 19 patients aged between three and 15 with the illness.

It said "bacterial contamination" had been detected in the injections administered to the children, adding that the medication had been smuggled into the country.

Another child was in "highly critical condition", it said.

The medication had passed its expiry date, a medical source in Sanaa told AFP, asking not to be identified for security reasons.

The source warned that the casualty toll could rise.

The health sector in Yemen, the Arab world's poorest country, has been devastated by years of war between the rebels and Yemen's government, backed by a Saudi-led military coalition.

It has cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, many through indirect causes such as hunger and disease.

The Houthis, who blamed the coalition's air and sea blockade of Yemen for the latest tragedy, are often accused of blocking or holding up deliveries of humanitarian aid, on which 80 percent of Yemen's 30-million population depend for their survival.