UN relief office warns of increasing famine in Yemen

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is concerned by the increasing number of districts in Yemen that are at risk of famine, a UN spokesman said on Thursday.

The humanitarian situation is aggravated by the protracted conflict, limited imports of critical commodities necessary for the basic survival of the Yemeni people, lack of salaries, and collapsing basic services, especially health, water and sanitation services, spokesman Farhan Haq told a press briefing.

A third of Yemen's districts, where 10 million people live, are at heightened risk of famine, he said.

He again called on the Saudi-led military coalition to expedite the delivery of commercial food and fuel imports through the Red Sea ports of Hudaydah and Saleef.

No commercial fuel imports has been cleared via Hudaydah since the start of a blockade by the coalition on Nov. 6, he said.

Since the easing of restrictions on Nov. 26, five commercial vessels carrying 116,070 metric tons of goods discharged at Hudaydah and Saleef, meeting a third of the food requirements for Yemen. Six commercial vessels have canceled their requests to enter Hudaydah or Saleef due to long wait times, said Haq.

Yemen has been in a civil war since 2015 between Sanaa-based Houthi forces and forces loyal to the government of Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, based in Aden. The Saudi-led coalition force was fighting against Houthi forces allegedly supported by Iran.