New massacres by Saudi-US forces on Sanaa and Sa’ada: 100 dead and wounded

SANA’A, YEMEN (YEMEN PRESS)– The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Mark Lowcock, described the humanitarian situation currently facing the Yemeni people like the Apocalypse, warning of the worst humanitarian disaster in 50 years in Yemen if its situation did not change.

He said the UN Emergency Fund would allocate funds to support relief work in Yemen, the largest in the history of the UN.

Lowcock’s comments came as the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) allocated $50m to bolster the relief effort in Yemen, where more than eight million people are on the brink of famine.

The sum represents the largest ever allocation made by (CERF) and reflects the dire situation in Yemen, which was already one of the Arab world’s poorest countries before the start of the war in 2015.

The United Nations has ranked Yemen at the forefront of the humanitarian crisis, with some 17 million Yemenis need food, seven million people at risk of starvation, and cholera in more than 2,000 deaths.

Last year, the United Nations listed the Saudi-led coalition on its black list; after 683 children were killed, during the war in 2016 and 38 attacks were carried out on schools and hospitals.

The statement comes in after a report issued by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, in which he stressed that Yemen needs urgent humanitarian assistance by 2018, especially as war escalates; more than 22 million people need protection and humanitarian assistance, more than 11 million are in desperate need than others.

The report said civilians are at great risk; more than 8,000 deaths, more than 3 million people forces are displaced, an estimated 18 million people are food insecure, and millions need to be kept life.

He added that the 16 million Yemenis lack water and sanitation services, and lack the same to health care, a ring that the Yemeni economy has shrunk since the outbreak of conflict; which led to the demobilization of 55% of the workforce.

The conflict is having a devastating effect, causing widespread food shortages and a major cholera outbreak as well as leaving millions in need of humanitarian assistance.

He pointed to the need to keep all ports always open, as Yemen imports about 90 percent of its basic food and nearly all types of fuel and medicine.

Lowcock said the steady flow of these imports is a must for millions of people. As Yemen moves forward, Yemen needs sustainable levels and higher levels of imports of food, fuel and medicine, especially through the ports of Hodeidah and Saliph, stressing that millions of needy Yemenis can not afford more restrictions on imports.

In coincidence with the UN report, international organizations and Western countries are exerting pressure on the Saudi coalition to lift completely the blockade on Yemen and allow free access to humanitarian supplies through Yemeni sea and air ports.