Two million children out of school in war-torn Yemen risk exploitation

The rest of the 3.7 million children still at school could be at risk as their future education hangs by a thread, with teachers' having not been paid in more than two years.

Yemeni children face increased risks being out of school, including various forms of exploitation such as being forced to join the fighting, child labour and early marriage, according to Sara Beysolow Nyanti, UNICEF representative in Yemen.

A fifth of schools in Yemen can no longer be used due to the widespread devastation resulting from the conflict. 

Nyanti said: "Violence, displacement and attacks on schools are preventing many children from accessing school. 

"They lose the opportunity to develop and grow in a caring and stimulating environment, ultimately becoming trapped in a life of poverty and hardship."

This is one of the latest developments in a conflict which has displaced millions and left two-thirds of the population in need of aid.

Almost two million children under the age of five are suffering from severe malnutrition, according to UNICEF.

The violence has been escalating gravely since Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in March 2015 to fight rebel groups in order to support Yemeni government forces. 

The conflict in Yemen has been described by the United Nations are the world's worst humanitarian crisis.