Nearly 1,000 people killed, over 4,200 injured, almost 198,000 displaced since latest escalation, WHO chief says
World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned of a “devastating toll” in Yemen amid an escalating conflict.
“The escalating conflict in Yemen is taking a devastating toll. Nearly 1000 people have been killed, more than 4200 injured, and almost 198,000 displaced since the latest escalation, amid outbreaks of cholera and measles,” Tedros said.
WHO’s immediate funding requirement more than tripled from $9 million to $31 million due to growing needs, he said on US social media company X.
“We urgently call on donors to step up. Lives depend on humanitarian and health aid,” Tedros added.
Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and several provinces in September 2014, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognised government.
Clashes between government forces and the Houthis resumed in July, marking the most intense fighting since a period of relative calm following a UN-brokered truce that began in April 2022.
Fighting intensified in September, when the Houthis seized key areas in Al-Hudaydah and Taiz provinces, including the strategic city of Mokha and Mayyun Island overlooking the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Yemen’s Houthis claim attacks on Saudi airports, military bases
Yemen’s Houthi group claimed early on Wednesday that it carried out a series of drone and ballistic missile attacks targeting airports and military installations in Saudi Arabia.
In a statement on the US social media platform X, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the forces targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with several drones, claiming the strike was “precise” and disrupted air traffic there.
He also said Houthi forces conducted two operations targeting Abha International Airport and Khamis Mushait Air Base using a combination of ballistic missiles and drones. He claimed the attacks disrupted air traffic at the airport and caused damage to the military base.
In a separate statement, Saree said Houthi forces targeted three military camps — Dagharir in Jizan, Aakifah in Asir and Al-Mawsim in Jizan — with a large number of ballistic missiles and drones.
