The war in Yemen, which has lasted for seven years, will have caused the death of 377,000 people, direct and indirect victims of the conflict, by the end of the year 2021, the UN said in a report on Tuesday.
Almost 60% of deaths, or about 227,000 people, are due to the indirect consequences of the conflict, such as lack of drinking water, hunger and disease, according to this document from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). . This means, according to these estimates, that the fighting will have killed 150,000 people by the end of this year.
The conflict pits Iranian-backed Houthi rebels against Yemeni government forces, backed since 2015 by a Saudi-led military coalition.
Seven years of war have had “catastrophic effects on the development of the nation”, according to the UNDP, which adds that “access to health care is limited or non-existent” and that “the economy is on the verge of s ‘collapse’.
Most of the indirect victims are “children particularly vulnerable to malnutrition and undernutrition,” says the UNDP. “In 2021, a Yemeni child under the age of five dies every nine minutes due to the conflict,” it is written.
Worst humanitarian disaster
According to the UNDP, “1.3 million people” are at risk of death if a peace agreement is not reached by 2030. “An increasing proportion of these deaths will occur… due to the indirect consequences that the crisis is exerting on livelihoods, food prices and the deterioration of basic services, such as health and education, ”he said.
Escalating fighting, including tank battles and regular bombing by planes and drones, has destroyed even the most basic of infrastructure in some areas, the report continues.
Millions of people are on the brink of famine, with two-thirds of Yemenis dependent on humanitarian aid, according to the UN. “Yemen is experiencing the worst and biggest humanitarian disaster in the world, and this disaster continues to worsen,” said the UN. “More than 80% of the population is in need of humanitarian aid. “
While UNDP hoped to achieve “middle-income status by 2050” for the country if the war ended immediately, few signs on the ground seem to point in this direction.
In recent weeks, fighting has intensified on several fronts. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Tuesday “extremely worried about the safety and security of civilians in the province of Marib, including the displaced”, estimated at “one million”.