Three in four households go hungry in parts of Yemen amid fighting: UN

World Food Programme warns of ‘devastating’ impact as conflict displaces thousands and cuts off food supplies.

A displaced Yemeni boy carries bread at Al-Firdaws camp in Ras Imran, on the western outskirts of Aden, Yemen [File: Abdulnasser Alseddik/AP Photo]

Three out of four families in parts of Yemen are going hungry after a surge in fighting displaced tens of thousands of people and disrupted food supplies, the United Nations food agency says.

Some 74 percent of households in accessible government-held areas cannot meet their basic food needs, a record for this year, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.

list 1 of 2 The intelligence war is turning against the Houthis

list 2 of 2 After Red Sea losses, Yemen’s government forces hold the line

An estimated 10 million people reside in government-held areas, according to WFP figures.

The rise in food insecurity indicates how quickly hunger is deepening in a country that imports about 90 percent of its food, as markets are disrupted and aid access shrinks.

In recent months, Yemen has faced a major escalation in fighting between Saudi-backed government forces and the Iran-aligned Houthi group that controls parts of the country.

The latest flare-up “threatens to be absolutely devastating” for food security, said WFP’s Assistant Executive Director for Programme Operations Matthew Hollingworth.

“We are looking at a hunger crisis that is going to grow as it persists,” he added, speaking to reporters in Geneva via video link from Rome on Friday.

The Houthis, who already control most of northern Yemen including the capital Sanaa, seized the country’s Red Sea coast last month from the internationally recognised government, based in the southern port city of Aden.

Displaced families are arriving outside Aden and around Taiz with no food or water after leaving everything behind, the WFP said.

A displaced Yemeni boy carries water containers at Al-Firdaws camp in Ras Imran on the western outskirts of Aden, Yemen [Abdulnasser Alseddik/AP Photo]

The WFP said it is scaling up its response to reach up to 1.5 million people, but it needs $109 million to do so.

It has already diverted resources from food distributions planned for November, and warns that without new funding, vulnerable displaced people will face gaps in assistance within a month.

Across Yemen, 18.3 million people face severe food insecurity, including 2.2 million acutely malnourished children under five, the WFP reported.

The fighting is widely described as the most serious escalation between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis since a UN-brokered truce mostly halted cross-border attacks in 2022.

The conflict could reshape control of the country and further disrupt Red Sea shipping lanes.

Hollingworth warned that disruption around the Houthi-controlled Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and the Gulf could push up food and fuel prices globally.

But the effects are already snowballing. More than 3,700 people fleeing the fighting had reached Djibouti via the Bab el-Mandeb Strait by late September, the WFP said.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says more than 149,000 people have been displaced in Yemen – many of them more than once.

世界粮食计划署警告称，冲突导致数千人流离失所，粮食供应中断，将造成“毁灭性”影响。

在也门亚丁西部郊区拉斯伊姆兰的菲尔道斯难民营，一名流离失所的也门男孩抱着面包。[图片：Abdulnasser Alseddik/AP Photo]

联合国粮食机构表示，也门部分地区四分之三的家庭正在挨饿，原因是战乱加剧导致数万人流离失所，粮食供应中断。

世界粮食计划署（WFP）周五表示，在政府控制的可达地区，约有 74% 的家庭无法满足其基本食物需求，创下今年的新纪录。

列表 1/2：情报战正对胡塞武装不利。

列表 2/2：红海失利后，也门政府军坚守阵地

据世界粮食计划署统计，约有1000万人居住在政府控制区。

粮食不安全状况的加剧表明，在一个约 90% 的粮食依赖进口的国家，饥饿问题正在迅速加剧，因为市场受到干扰，援助渠道也日益萎缩。

近几个月来，也门沙特支持的政府军与控制该国部分地区的伊朗支持的胡塞武装之间的战斗急剧升级。

世界粮食计划署项目运营助理执行主任马修·霍林沃思表示，最近这波疫情“有可能对粮食安全造成毁灭性打击”。

“我们正面临一场饥饿危机，而且随着危机的持续，这场危机还会加剧，”他周五在罗马通过视频连线向日内瓦的记者说道。

胡塞武装已经控制了也门北部的大部分地区，包括首都萨那。上个月，他们从位于南部港口城市亚丁的国际公认政府手中夺取了也门红海沿岸地区。

世界粮食计划署表示，流离失所的家庭抵达亚丁郊外和塔伊兹附近时，没有食物和水，他们抛弃了一切。

一名流离失所的也门男孩在也门亚丁西郊拉斯伊姆兰的 Al-Firdaws 营地搬运水容器 [Abdulnasser Alseddik/美联社照片]

世界粮食计划署表示，正在扩大应对规模，以惠及多达 150 万人，但为此需要 1.09 亿美元。

它已经将原计划于 11 月进行的食品分发资源转移出去，并警告说，如果没有新的资金，弱势流离失所者将在一个月内面临援助缺口。

世界粮食计划署报告称，也门全国有 1830 万人面临严重的粮食不安全问题，其中包括 220 万五岁以下严重营养不良的儿童。

这场冲突被广泛认为是自2022年联合国斡旋达成停火协议，基本制止了跨境袭击以来，沙特阿拉伯和胡塞武装之间最严重的冲突升级。

这场冲突可能会重塑该国的控制格局，并进一步扰乱红海航道。

霍林沃思警告说，胡塞武装控制的曼德海峡和伊朗与海湾之间的霍尔木兹海峡附近的混乱可能会推高全球食品和燃料价格。

但其影响已经开始加剧。世界粮食计划署表示，截至9月下旬，已有超过3700名逃离战火的人经曼德海峡抵达吉布提。

国际移民组织（IOM）表示，也门已有超过 149,000 人流离失所——其中许多人不止一次流离失所。