UN 'deeply concerned' over Yemen internal displacement amid escalating hostilities

The UN on Tuesday expressed its deep concern over the situation in Yemen, as escalating hostilities have displaced more than 100,000 people and disrupted humanitarian operations.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a news conference that the UN's relief chief Tom Fletcher "just released $9 million from the Central Emergency Relief Fund to provide urgent assistance to displaced families and to the communities receiving them."

Citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Dujarric said "the toll on civilians continues to grow, forcing families from their homes, killing and injuring those caught in the crossfire, and already stretched humanitarian operations are coming under growing pressure."

The UN Refugee Agency has warned that "rapidly escalating hostilities, especially on the western coast of Yemen, have displaced more than 100,000 human beings inside the country," and forced thousands more to flee across the Bab al-Mandeb Strait to Djibouti, he added.

Dujarric said "access and movements along key routes are restricted or just suspended," while humanitarian supplies are running low.

He stressed that all parties must "protect civilians, respect international humanitarian law, respect international law, and facilitate the safe and unhindered passage of humanitarian aid."

Yemen has been gripped by war since the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and several provinces in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led Arab coalition to intervene in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government.

The rebel group has been engaged in renewed fighting with government forces since July, when it declared a maritime blockade on Riyadh, and has recently claimed advances as clashes intensify.