Local Editor
More than 60,000 people have been killed in Yemen in the last two years, according to a new assessment, a figure six times higher than previous estimates.
The figure of 10,000 used by the United Nations is outdated and nowhere near the likely true fatality figure of 60,223, according to UK-based independent research group Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED).
Calculating death tolls in Yemen, which is approaching its fourth year, is complicated by the lack of access.
The figure offered by ACLED, which looked at open-source data and local news reports, does not include those thought to have died from malnutrition. Save the Children charity says some 85,000 may have died from starvation since 2016.
The death toll “is far higher than official estimates - and still underestimated,” Clionadh Raleigh, ACLED’s executive director, said.
“Fatality numbers are only one approximation of the abject tragedy and terror forced upon Yemenis from several sides. This cannot be overstated,” Raleigh said.
The number has increased year-on-year, which they say could be explained by Saudi Arabia’s aggression on behalf of the resigned regime of former Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
Of all the fatalities, 28,182 were recorded in the first 11 months of 2018. That marks a 68 per cent increase compared to last year, the group said. The Saudi-led coalition has been battling Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement in the Red Sea city of Hodeida, which is home to the most strategic port in the country.
Last month was the deadliest on record, with 3,058 killed.
Both sides have gathered for UN-sponsored peace talks in Stockholm this week - the first in two years.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
