DUBAI: The humanitarian situation in Yemen’s restive region of Saada has deteriorated badly, international aid agencies warned on Tuesday, after four weeks of an all-out army offensive against northern rebels.
“We have not been able to deliver aid to the town of Saada (the capital of the province of the same name) as humanitarian corridors have not been secured,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees spokeswoman Laure Chedrawi.
“All we know is that the humanitarian situation is difficult,” she told AFP by telephone from northern Yemen.
“The inhabitants are stuck in their homes, while there has been a staggering rise in food prices,” she said, pointing out that her information dated to before communication lines with the town were cut early Monday.
Thousands of people remain trapped in Saada town as heavy clashes continued between the Shiite rebels and the army, which launched its offensive on Aug. 11.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said it was struggling to deliver supplies to its aid centers in Saada, warning that the conditions amount to a “serious humanitarian problem.” “We have a convoy of medical supplies on its way to Saada, but it has not reached the town. The supplies to our centers would be enough for three months,” said ICRC regional spokesman Hisham Hassan.
“We are in contact with all parties to get the aid through, but it is not an easy task,” he said.
Saada province, stronghold of the rebels, has a population of 850,000, according to the most recent official figures from 2004.
The population of Saada town was more than 60,000, in addition to thousands of displaced people.
Hassan said the ICRC last week recorded upward of 25,000 displaced in the Saada and neighboring Amran regions.
“These are the displaced people registered by the ICRC. The number does not reflect the real total figure,” he said from Sanaa.
The United Nations puts the figure of displaced people at 35,000, while other reports said their numbers have reached 55,000.
“Conditions are harsh... We are in the rainy season and temperatures can dip to low levels... Heavy downpours hit the region over a week ago, and many displaced people who do not have any means of transportation are fleeing their homes on foot,” Hassan said.
The ICRC, in cooperation with the Yemeni Red Crescent, is operating three camps for the displaced inside and around Saada town, in addition to two other camps in the region.
Chedrawi said the UNHCR and other humanitarian agencies were trying to open a humanitarian corridor through Saudi Arabia.
The agency said on Tuesday a ship carrying UNHCR aid was scheduled to dock at Aden port carrying nine 40-foot containers of aid for the Saada camps and accessible areas.
Meanwhile, Yemeni opposition parties urged the government to “put an end to the bloodshed in Saada,” in a statement released on Monday.
They accused Sanaa of failing to “present serious and realistic solutions” to the country’s problems, including rising separatism in the former South Yemen.
A glimmer of hope in a government-proposed truce late on Friday was quickly extinguished after fighting erupted again after just four hours.
There has been no official casualty toll since government forces launched operation “Scorched Earth,” although thousands of people have been killed since the conflict first broke out in 2004.
The UNHCR estimates 150,000 have been displaced over the past five years.
“Children are bearing the brunt of this conflict. Many now have to live in camps, schools or with host families, often not for the first time,” said UNICEF regional director Sigrid Kaag in a statement.
“It is believed that children represent the majority of the displaced population. Their access to basic services like safe drinking water, adequate sanitation, food and health care is extremely limited under these conditions,” she said.
