Escalation of fighting in Yemen disrupts education for over 137,000 children: UNICEF

More than 137,000 school-aged children in Yemen are facing major disruptions to their education amid the ongoing conflict, UNICEF said Monday.

The UN children's agency said its response teams are setting up 20 child-friendly spaces and temporary classrooms and providing protection services for affected children.

"Children shouldn't lose their future to conflict," UNICEF said.

The agency said Friday that renewed fighting had forced families from their homes in western Taiz province and districts along Yemen's western coast.

UNICEF, together with the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World Food Programme (WFP), is providing emergency assistance to more than 14,000 newly displaced people.

Confrontations between Yemen's internationally recognized government's forces and the Houthis have escalated since early July, following years of relative calm.

The country has been engulfed in war since the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and several provinces in 2014, before a Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government.