GENEVA: At least 46,000 people have been displaced since the fighting resumed between Houthi militia and government forces in southwestern Yemen last week, the United Nations said Friday.

“At least 46,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since fighting escalated last week,” the UN’s International Organization for Migration said in a statement, warning that “the number is alarmingly rising by the hour”.

The Houthis have intensified attacks in Yemen in recent days, firing five ballistic missiles toward areas in the south and west of Taiz province, triggering panic among residents and forcing dozens of families to flee.

Two Yemeni government sources said Houthi forces had reached the city of Dhubab, which lies directly on the Bab E-Mandeb Strait opposite Mayun Island, Reuters reported.

Another government source told AFP that the militia had deployed on the strategic island of Mayun, located in the middle of the strait.

* With AFP and Reuters