Oxfam: Yemenis struggling to survive under aggression, siege

LONDON, Mar. 27 (YPA) – Yemenis are struggling to survive relying on unclean water and bread crumbs under aggression and siege launched by the coalition for three years, Oxfam Organization based in UK said in a statement.

Families in poor areas of the province of Amran (northwest of Yemen capital) cannot buy more than half a bag of wheat a month, and they walk three kilometers two or three times a day to bring unclean water from wells, the statement said.

The price of rice increased during the war by 131%, beans by 92%, vegetable oil by 86%, flour by 54%, while the number of hungry people increased by 68% to be 18 million people.

Three million people were displaced, more than 5,500 civilians have died and more than 2,000 have died as a result of the cholera epidemic that has made Yemen the biggest outbreak in history, with more than a million people suspected of being infected.

“Three years of war are more than enough,” said Collette Veron, Oxfam’s deputy director for humanitarian affairs.

Al Jazeera website reported that “Many bombs have been dropped, many have been fired, many have suffered from hunger and many lives have been lost.. All parties need to stop this war.”

Oxfam said it provides aid and services in Amran and eight other provinces and has helped more than 2.8 million people since mid-2015, but the closure of sea and air ports by the coalition has hindered access aid.

Sameera Hassn