UN warns half Yemen's people could soon be on brink of famine
He urged a humanitarian ceasefire around facilities involved in food aid distribution, and infrastructure
An eight-year-old malnourished boy lies on a bed in the emergency ward of a hospital in Sanaa, Yemen. PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON:
The United Nations warned Tuesday that Yemen was on the verge of widespread famine.
"There is now a clear and present danger of an imminent and great big famine engulfing Yemen," UN Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock said.
He urged a humanitarian ceasefire around facilities involved in food aid distribution, and infrastructure, at a meeting of the Security Council convened on the British initiative because of the deterioration in Yemen.
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"The parties to the conflict continue to violate international humanitarian law," and while earlier UN estimates put those in danger of famine at 11 million, the real number facing it now is 14 million people.
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Since the last UN warning in September, "the situation (on the ground) has gotten worse," Emergency Relief Coordinator Lowcock said.
Yemen's brutal conflict has since 2015 left some 10,000 people dead and has created what the UN has dubbed the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
The United Nations warned Tuesday that Yemen was on the verge of widespread famine.
"There is now a clear and present danger of an imminent and great big famine engulfing Yemen," UN Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock said.
He urged a humanitarian ceasefire around facilities involved in food aid distribution, and infrastructure, at a meeting of the Security Council convened on the British initiative because of the deterioration in Yemen.
Yemen president sacks prime minister amid economic woes
"The parties to the conflict continue to violate international humanitarian law," and while earlier UN estimates put those in danger of famine at 11 million, the real number facing it now is 14 million people.
UAE will support UN proposals for new talks on Yemen: Emirati official
Since the last UN warning in September, "the situation (on the ground) has gotten worse," Emergency Relief Coordinator Lowcock said.
Yemen's brutal conflict has since 2015 left some 10,000 people dead and has created what the UN has dubbed the world's worst humanitarian crisis.