Yemen's 20-month war has killed more than 7,000 people and wounded nearly 37,000, the World Health Organisation said, as the UN envoy voiced alarm over the worsening humanitarian situation. "More than 7,070 people have been killed and over 36,818 injured" as of October 25, the WHO said in a statement. Another 21 million people are in need of urgent health services, the UN health agency said.
Speaking to reporters at the airport of the rebel-held capital Sanaa on Monday, UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said that the situation cannot continue. "People are dying... the infrastructure is falling apart... and the economy is on the brink of abyss," he said.
Yemen has been rocked by fighting between Iran-backed rebels and government forces supported by a Saudi-led coalition since March 2015, months after the insurgents seized Sanaa and advanced across the country. The UN envoy urged the coalition controlling Yemen's airspace to allow commercial flights into and out of Sanaa's international airport to evacuate the wounded. The coalition argues that the rebels would use the airport, completely under their control, to transport weapons. International organisations have also warned in recent weeks of a spread of disease and growing malnutrition rates in the country. The WHO said 2.1 million people have been internally displaced by the conflict.
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