SRINAGAR: More than 250,000 people have been displaced across Yemen between August 1 and October 17 as hostilities intensified, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday, warning that thousands of families remain in need of shelter amid severe funding shortages.
The figure has risen from nearly 213,000 reported earlier, with Taiz accounting for 76 per cent of departures and hosting 52 per cent of the newly displaced population, according to UNHCR.
Lahj in southwestern Yemen hosts 23 per cent of those newly displaced, followed by Aden in the south, which accounts for 13 per cent, the agency said.
“Shelling intensified in Taiz, including in residential areas and around health facilities, while insecurity and restrictions along key routes continue to constrain humanitarian access and movement,” UNHCR said in a statement.
It added that strikes had also been reported in Aden, including near key civilian infrastructure.
By October 17, UNHCR and its partners had assessed 12,283 displaced households across Abyan, Aden, Marib, Lahj and Taiz. Of these, around 2,050 families were without shelter, the agency said.
Although shelter partners had reached 3,166 households, approximately 33,700 families continued to require shelter assistance, UNHCR said, citing severe underfunding of the broader humanitarian response.
The deteriorating security situation has also disrupted education and humanitarian operations at Kharaz refugee camp in Lahj, which hosts 9,490 refugees. Schools at the camp closed again on October 11, while access restrictions continued to affect movement to and from the site and the delivery of humanitarian assistance, according to the agency.
Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since the Houthi movement seized the capital, Sanaa, and several other provinces in September 2014. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognised government.
The Houthis control much of northern and western Yemen, while government forces and their allies hold Aden and large parts of the country’s southern and eastern provinces.
