300 babies killed every day in warzones

LONDON — Starvation, disease and a lack of aid are killing 300 babies a day in warzones around the world, with the number of children caught up in conflicts nearing a 30-year high, Save the Children said on Friday.

Afghanistan, Yemen, South Sudan, the Central African Republic and Syria were among the worst conflict zones for children in 2017, the charity concluded from an analysis of UN data for the five years to the end of that year.

In all, more than 500,000 babies died during the period from the knock-on effects of conflict — hunger, hospital attacks and reduced aid — according to the data, which excludes those killed in attacks.

“From Yemen to Syria and South Sudan, children are bearing the horror of armed conflict,” said Kevin Watkins, head of Save the Children.

Save the Children said a fifth of all children worldwide — about 420 million — lived in a conflict zone in 2017, 30 million more than the year before and the highest number since 1990.