|
By Patrick Worsnip
Reuters
Friday, August 21, 2009; 5:53 PM UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - More than 100,000 people in Yemen, many of
them children, have fled their homes during a recent surge in fighting
between the government and Shi'ite Muslim rebels, a U.N. agency said on
Friday.
The children's agency UNICEF and other U.N. aid bodies expressed serious
concern about what they called a deteriorating situation in the north of
the country and described conditions as critical in some areas. The refugee agency UNHCR said in Geneva it was appealing for a ceasefire
to allow civilians to escape the fighting and enable aid workers to
resume interrupted deliveries of humanitarian goods to the conflict zone. The conflict with the Houthi rebels in mostly Sunni Muslim Yemen has
flared intermittently since 2004. Authorities accuse the rebels of
trying to expand their influence, but the insurgents say they are
defending their villages against government oppression. Earlier this month, Yemeni forces began an offensive using air strikes,
tanks and artillery in what officials say is an attempt to crush the revolt. On Friday, President Ali Abdullah Saleh reiterated ceasefire conditions
to the rebels to try to end the fighting, which has killed dozens of
people. "We offer those elements another chance to resort to peace and
return to the righteous path," he said in a Ramadan speech on state
television. The rebels have so far rejected the six conditions, which include a
rebel withdrawal, removal of rebel checkpoints and the clarification of
the fate of nine kidnapped foreigners. "It is estimated that over 100,000 persons have been displaced by the
latest round of fighting, (and) many of them are children," said Aboudou
Karimou Adjibade, UNICEF representative in Yemen. "It is crucial that we
gain immediate access to them to provide them with the assistance they
need." APPEAL FOR AID The agency's spokeswoman in Geneva, Veronique Taveau, told reporters the
United Nations would launch a so-called flash -- or one-off -- appeal
for aid next week. Previous clashes between government troops and rebels had already
affected about 120,000 people, U.N. officials said. UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic quoted refugees as saying the situation
was critical in the rebel stronghold of Saada -- where fighting had
displaced some 35,000 people in the last two weeks -- in areas further
north and in El Sufyan in a neighboring district. He said roads to the Saada governorate were blocked and there was no
access to the conflict area by air. Many people seeking to flee were
paying smugglers to get out, UNHCR said. The Rome-based U.N. World Food Program said that on Friday it began
distributing a one-month ration of cereals, pulses, vegetable oil, salt
and sugar to 10,000 displaced people. It airlifted 40 metric tons of
high-energy biscuits from Dubai last week and planned another airlift in
the next few days. A joint U.N. team that has been visiting an area southwest of Saada
since last week said refugees needed shelter, clean water and sanitation
facilities. Yemeni authorities have said they plan to open a refugee
camp there, UNHCR said. The latest fighting is a fresh problem for Yemen, an impoverished
country in the southwest of the Arabian Peninsula that is already
grappling with secessionist violence in the south and a growing threat
from al Qaeda militancy.
Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites  |
