UN says 85,000 displaced in 10 weeks of surging violence in Yemen

Surging violence across Yemen had displaced some 85,000 people in the past 10 weeks, with hundreds continuing to flee each day, the UN said Friday. The refugee agency UNHCR said more than 70 percent of those displaced since December 1 had fled a military escalation in the Hodeida and Taez governorates on Yemen’s west coast. The agency voiced particular concern for displaced people remaining in areas close to the hostilities in the two governorates, where conditions are continuing to deteriorate. Last month, the UN made a record appeal for nearly $3 billion to combat imminent famine as well as cholera and diphtheria outbreaks in Yemen this year.