Breach of the humanitarian ceasefire in Yemen causes some 25,000 additional people to starve each day as the blockade and fighting restrict food and other vital supplies, Oxfam country director for Yemen said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Since the start of the conflict, every day that goes by without a ceasefire and full resumption of imports sees nearly 25,000 additional people go hungry in Yemen,” Philippe Clerc said, Sputnik reported.
He added that as the warring parties continue to ignore calls for a ceasefire, “the average family in Yemen is left wondering when their next meal will be, if they survive the bombs; they’re now running out of food.”
On Saturday, the Saudi-led coalition unilaterally announced a five-day humanitarian truce in Yemen to allow for aid to be delivered to those injured and displaced by the violence. The UN-backed truce came into force midnight Sunday, but was disrupted by two Saudi-led airstrikes early Monday morning.
According to the charity group data, Saada Governorate in the north of the country is the most affected, with nearly 50% of its residents at a critical level of starvation.
In late March, a Saudi-led coalition of Arab countries began airstrikes in Yemen to restore fugitive president Abd-Rabbuh Mansur Hadi to power and repel the Houthis, who took control over large parts of the country in 2014, prompting Hadi to flee to the Saudi capital Riyadh.
According to Oxfam and UN estimates, more than 500,000 people in Yemen have been displaced since March. Over 12 million people in the country are struggling to find enough food to survive.
