Local Editor

According to the World Health Organization [WHO], nearly 2,000 people had been killed in the fighting since March in Yemen, including "hundreds of women and children", adding that some 8.6 million people "are in urgent need of medical help" for both war-related injuries and for common medical conditions, as it said in a statement on Wednesday.

In a statement on Wednesday, the WHO said that innocent Yemeni people are paying the "highest price" for the deadly Saudi aggression against Yemen.

The director general of the WHO, Margaret Chan, said that, "It is innocent civilians that pay the highest price". 

She stressed that more than 2,000 people have been killed and over 8,000 others have been injured due to the ongoing conflict in the country.

"The health and lives of millions of people are at risk," Chan warned.

She further warned about the dire medical situation in Yemen due to the Saudi airstrikes and ongoing conflict, saying that, "Almost 8.6 million people are in urgent need of medical help."

She also censured the deadly attacks on medical centers and staff in Yemen, saying that the attacks are in contravention of the international humanitarian law.

"Health infrastructure continues to be hit, with attacks reported on hospitals and ambulances, a medical warehouse, an oxygen factory, and a blood transfusion center. Some health care workers were killed trying to save lives and more injured," Chan said.

According to the WHO statement also, "Hospitals around the country have closed because of shortages of staff members and fuel, and medicines for diabetes, cancer and hypertension are no longer available".

The organization added that, "Outbreaks of polio and measles are also serious risks."

Just earlier on Wednesday, a Saudi attack on a medical university in the western al-Hudaydah province in Yemen left dozens dead.

The Saudi warplanes also targeted a medical center in the district of Haradh in the northern province of Hajjah. At least five staffers at the clinic suffered injuries in the attack.

At least 100 people were killed and over 270 others sustained injuries in the Saudi aggression against the Yemeni capital city of Sana’a on Wednesday.

"This unnecessary loss of innocent lives cannot go on," Chan urged, demanding that, "The health system must be allowed to function unimpeded by the insecurity".