As the fighting between forces loyal to exiled President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi and those allied with Houthi rebel movement continues, 80% of Yemenis are suffering from a lack of basic life-sustaining commodities and services. According to reports, 21 million Yemenis are in need of humanitarian assistance, making up almost 80% of Yemen’s 26.7 million population.

An embargo on Yemen has prevented most imports in the Port of Aden, where 90% of the country’s food is imported. Since then, civilians have begun to suffer from grave malnutrition. The country has 6 million civilians enduring food insecurity with 1.2 million children suffering moderate acute malnutrition and 500,000 are severely malnourished. The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) warned on August 19 that an average of eight children are killed or maimed every day in Yemen. Drinking water and sanitation are also in need with 20 million civilians, 75% of the population, without access to safe drinking water or sanitation.

The crisis escalated in March 2015 when President Hadi fled the country after Houthi Rebels gained control of much of the country. In March, a Saudi-led coalition backing the Yemeni government began bombing rebel forces. Since then, at least 1,950 civilians have been killed, 4,271 wounded and an estimated total of 4,500 people have been killed. The Saudi-led coalition recaptured the port city Aden from Houthi Rebels in July. The prime minister and vice president Khaled Bahah have since returned to Aden permanently. It is still unclear if and when President Hadi will return to Yemen.  

To read more, visit:

http://www.hrw.org/news/2015/09/14/dispatches-high-time-accountability-yemen
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34271712
http://nationalyemen.com/2015/09/18/war-forcing-yemenis-to-leave-their-houses/
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/30/us-yemen-security-humanitarian-idUSKCN0RU1202015093