Local Editor
The United Nations on Thursday stressed on the importance of ending the war launched by the Saudi-led coalition on Yemen.
“Civilians are paying a shocking price because of this conflict,” said U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen Lise Grande. “This is the third time this month that fighting has caused mass casualties in Hodeida.”
Grande referred to the Saudi-led attack that killed at least 20 people in Hodeida on Wednesday.
The growing number of civilian casualties in the Saudi-led war has prompted right groups to call for the suspension of the multibillion-dollar U.S. and European arms sales to Saudi Arabia, for decades among the world’s largest buyers of weapons.
Save the Children said Thursday the cost of basic food items such as flour, rice, salt, sugar and cooking oil has nearly doubled since the conflict erupted in March 2015. The average income in Yemen has more than halved, meanwhile, falling to just $3.39 a day. The organization also said that 52 per cent of the population lives under the international poverty line — up from 30 per cent in 2014.
“The economic collapse is Yemen’s silent killer; many Yemenis are struggling just to survive,” said Tamer Kirolos, the group’s Yemen director.
Citing humanitarian partners, the U.N. humanitarian aid agency said more than 170 people were killed, at least 1,700 were injured and more than 570,000 people have been forced to flee their homes across Hodeida province since fighting escalated in June.
An estimated 10,000 people have been killed so far and the conflict has devastated Yemen and pushed it to the brink of famine. The war has also left around two-thirds of Yemen’s population of 27 million relying on aid, and over 8 million at risk of starvation.
Source: Yemenwatch.net
