NEW YORK — The United Nations has added the Iran-backed Houthi militia to its blacklist of groups for violating children's rights.

In a statement on Friday, the United Nations said that "the Houthi group has killed and maimed 250 Yemeni children."

The UN annually names and shames countries or groups for killing, injuring or abusing children, abducting or recruiting children, denying aid access for children or targeting schools and hospitals.

In February, the Yemeni Network for Human Rights and Freedoms reported 65,971 violations against Yemeni children by the Houthis over the past four years.

In a report documenting childhood violations, the network said that the Houthi militia has pushed more than two million children to the labor market in search of jobs as a result of the deteriorating economic situation.

The militia has also deprived 4.5 million children of education as it turned educational facilities into military barracks for militias and training camps for its recruits.