YEMEN
Yemen faces worst famine in 100 years
October 15, 2018 - The United Nations is calling on the Saudi Arabia-led military coalition in Yemen to halt airstrikes which are killing civilians and contributing to what could become “the worst famine in the world in 100 years”.
If fighting continues, famine could engulf the country in the next three months, with 12 to 13 million civilians at risk of starvation, according to Lise Grande, the chief of the UN diplomatic mission in Yemen.
Yemen’s civil war began more than three years ago, when Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.
A coalition of Arab states led by Saudi Arabia is using airstrikes and a blockade in support of the internationally-recognised government.
At least 10,000 people have been killed in the conflict and millions are displaced.