UN says more than 230,000 displaced by fighting in Yemen since August

More than 230,000 people have been displaced by fighting in Yemen since August, UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said on Thursday.

Haq told reporters that the fighting between the Houthis and the internationally recognized Yemeni government continues to force people from their homes and place additional pressure on humanitarian operations, citing warnings from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

"Our colleagues at the International Organization for Migration have reported more than 230,000 people displaced by fighting since the start of August," said Haq.

Despite the challenges, humanitarian partners have reached more than 152,000 people with emergency assistance, he added.

"We reiterate our call on all parties to respect international humanitarian law, protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and allow safe, rapid, and unimpeded humanitarian access that includes safe passage for supplies, patients, ambulances and medical teams," he stressed.

Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since the Houthis seized the national capital Sanaa, and several provinces in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in 2015 in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government.

The current escalation began in July, after a period of relative calm following a UN-brokered truce that took effect in April 2022.