Yemenis dying either from Saudi bombing or hunger: Local

Yemeni citizens are losing their lives either due to the Saudi bombardment campaign or as a result of the starvation gripping the impoverished country, a local says, denouncing the international community's silence on the Riyadh regime’s deadly war.

Fatima, who lives in a village in Hudaydah province, told The Guardian that she had no money to feed and treat her two grandsons with thalassemia.

“Since we lost our jobs, we have no income and we have nothing to eat,” she said, adding, “Either we die from the bombing or from the hunger. My grandson needs treatment and also on the top of all that he needs to eat a healthy food, my grandson doesn’t know what the milk tastes like.”

She also accused the world community of turning a blind eye to the Saudi offensive, noting, “I also blame the whole world for watching us dying and for their silence against” the military campaign.

Yemenis in 'desperate' need of help

The remarks came hours after the United Nations appealed for $2.1 billion to provide food and other life-saving aid for some 12 million Yemenis expected to need assistance this year.

“Two years of war have devastated Yemen and millions of children, women and men desperately need our help," said UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O'Brien in a statement.

He further waned that the affected Yemenis “may face the threat of famine in the course of 2017” without international support.

Late last month, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said Yemen had lost a decade in terms of growth in the public health sector due to the Saudi aggression. It also voiced concerns that many Yemeni children were succumbing to malnutrition.

Read more:

• Crisis-hit Yemen teetering on edge of famine

• Yemen loses decade of health gains due to Saudi war: UN

Saudi Arabia has been incessantly pounding Yemen since March 2015 in a bid to reinstall the country’s former government and crush the Houthi Ansarullah movement.

The Houthis and the Yemeni army have been defending Yemen against the Saudi offensive for almost two years.

The military aggression has claimed the lives of over 11,400 Yemenis, including women and children, according to the latest tally by a Yemeni monitoring group.

32 killed in fresh Mokha scuffles

Separately on Wednesday, a total of 32 people were killed in fresh clashes between the Houthi fighters and forces loyal to Yemen’s resigned president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, in the flashpoint Red Sea port city of Mokha.

Officials said those killed were 24 Houthis and eight Hadi loyalists.

Pro-Hadi militants, backed by the Saudi firepower, started an offensive on January 7 to seize control of Mokha from the Houthi fighters and allied army forces.

Read more:

• Dozens killed as Yemeni Houthis clash with Saudi-backed militiamen

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