PRESS STATEMENT
Sana’a/New York, 20
June 2014 – The Humanitarian
Coordinator in Yemen, Mr. Johannes Van Der Klaauw, has called on parties to the
conflict in Amran Governorate to ensure that aid organisations have full access
to all civilians in need of assistance wherever they are in the governorate.
He also stressed that
roads must be open to movement of humanitarian assistance and that civilians as
well as civilian infrastructure must be protected from ongoing violence.
“I am concerned that
continuing conflict in Amran has worsened the plight of thousands of
civilians,” said Mr. Van Der Klaauw. “Humanitarian organisations in Yemen have
received reports of civilians abandoning their homes, others hiding in caves in
nearby mountains, water pipelines destroyed and schools occupied by combatants.
“At the moment, we are
unable to verify these reports because we have very limited access to areas of
conflict,” the Humanitarian Coordinator added. “Our efforts to scale-up
humanitarian operations in Amran have also been constrained by widespread
insecurity.”
The call by the
Humanitarian Coordinator follows resumption of conflict following the collapse
of a ceasefire on 14 June. The renewed fighting has triggered movement of
people from affected villages to Amran
City and towards the
capital, Sana’a. Others are displaced within Amran, with reports of hundreds of
families seeking refuge in caves.
More than 20,000 people
have been displaced by conflict in Amran since October last year until May of
this year, and renewed fighting has resulted in a possible doubling of this
number during the last weeks. These come in addition to an old caseload of over
42,000 people who were displaced in earlier conflicts.
Insecurity along the
roads, as well as fuel shortages, have pushed up the prices of key food
commodities by 30 per cent in recent weeks. Should food prices continue to
increase, a large number of people in the governorate will not have enough food
to eat.
“I urge parties to seek
a peaceful resolution to the conflict and to fully observe their duty to
protect civilians,” said Mr. Van Der Klaauw. “I also urge parties to the
conflict to ensure that aid can reach vulnerable people who are in desperate
need of assistance.”
For further
information, please contact:
Ogoso Erich , Public
Information Officer, OCHA Yemen,
email: ogoso@un.org, tel +967 712 222 831
Trond Jensen, Head of Office, OCHA Yemen, email:
jensen8@un.org, tel +967 712 222 207
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