LONDON (AlertNet) - Aid group Islamic Relief said on Thursday it had managed to get food to a small group of displaced people for the first time since fighting erupted in the northern Saada region five weeks ago between the army and Shi'ite rebels.
"Despite continuous fighting and the threats and challenges faced by our staff, we have finally been able to distribute food to families affected by the violence in Saada," Khalid Almulad, Islamic Relief YemenÂ?s country director, said in a statement.
"Many of the displaced people we have reached had not received any food since the conflict started one month ago."
The situation has been deteriorating week by week. More than 80 people seeking refuge in a camp were killed in an army air raid this week, a camp source and news reports said on Thursday. Rights groups condemned the attack, which follows reports of dozens killed in shelling in a market town on Monday.
"Calls for a ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid into the area have so far been unheeded," said Islamic Relief, the local implementing partner of the U.N. World Food Programme.
"Despite this, Islamic Relief has so far been able to distribute food to 1,400 displaced families in Saada town and if security allows will provide food to a further 4,800 families in the coming days."
In early August a new wave of fighting - the "sixth war" in an intermittent five-year-old conflict - flared in the mountainous northern Saada governorate between rebel Shi'ite Muslims and government forces trying to impose central authority. Thousands more people fled their homes, bring to about 150,000 the number of people left homeless by the various rounds of the conflict.
Many are sleeping out in the open, on roads or under bridges, but the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said on Thursday conditions were worst in Saada town itself, which has seen some of the worst fighting including street battles and bombardments, according to witnesses.
"They live in dire conditions facing extreme hardship as there has been no water and electricity in Saada since 12 August and food reserves are running out," the agency said.
Even the reserves there are cannot be sent to people in need because of poor security. Islamic Relief said it had enough food for 60,000 people but could only deliver a fraction of it.
Fighting has spread in recent days to areas where people had fled, including one near the Saudi border.
UNHCR said it was ready to launch a cross-border operation from Saudi Arabia to help people scattered in the north, "pending security clearances from both governments".
"UNHCR also calls on the Saudi authorities to offer safe shelter and assistance to displaced Yemenis who may seek refuge across the border," it added.
A U.N. appeal this month for $23.75 million in emergency funds to help displaced Yemenis has so far met with silence.
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