UN says death toll in Yemen war now past 7,000

More than half of all the country's heath facilities are crippled or destroyed after 20 months of fighting, WHO says.

Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the UN envoy for Yemen, speaks to reporters before leaving Sanaa airport on November 7, 2016, after further talks with Iran-backed rebels on reaching a peace deal. Khaled AbdShow more

Sanaa // Yemen’s 20-month war has killed more than 7,000 people and wounded nearly 37,000, the World Health Organisation said on Monday, as the UN envoy voiced alarm over the worsening humanitarian situation.

“More than 7,070 people have been killed and over 36,818 injured” as of October 25, the WHO said.

Another 21 million people are in need of urgent health services, the UN health agency said.

Speaking at the airport of the rebel-held capital Sanaa on Monday, UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said the situation cannot continue.

“People are dying ... the infrastructure is falling apart ... and the economy is on the brink of abyss,” he said.

Yemen has been rocked by fighting between Iran-backed rebels and government forces supported by a Saudi-led coalition since March last year, months after the insurgents seized Sanaa and advanced across the country.

The UN envoy urged the coalition controlling Yemen’s airspace to allow commercial flights into and out of Sanaa’s international airport to evacuate the wounded.

The coalition argues that the rebels would use the airport, which is under their control, to transport weapons.

International organisations have also warned in recent weeks of a spread of disease and growing malnutrition rates in the country.

The conflict has forced 2.1 million people to flee from the homes to other areas in Yemen, the WHO said.

More than half of all health facilities across the country have been shut or are functioning only partially amid “critical shortages” in doctors, it said.

Mr Cheikh Ahmed warned of a “very dangerous” health situation with an estimated 2,241 suspected cholera cases.

The UN has confirmed 71 cases of the disease, which is transmitted through contaminated drinking water and causes acute diarrhoea.

Attempts by the UN envoy to convince the warring parties to commit to a ceasefire and resume peace talks have failed.

Mr Cheikh Ahmed urged the rivals to “make some concessions” and defended a roadmap for peace he put forward last month.

The mediator, who had been discussing his proposal with the rebels since Thursday, was headed to Riyadh to meet Yemeni president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi.

The contents of the roadmap have not been made public. But sources say it calls for agreement on naming a new vice president after the rebels withdraw from Sanaa and other cities and hand over heavy weapons to a third party.

Mr Hadi would then transfer power to the vice president who would appoint a new prime minister to form a government in which the north and south of Yemen would have equal representation.

Meanwhile, the US secretary of state John Kerry has identified an American captive released by the Houthis and flown to Oman on Sunday as as Wallead Yusuf Pitts Luqman.

According to news reports, Mr Luqman is a former US Marine who was abducted in April last year while trying to leave Yemen, where he had been teaching English.

Mr Kerry said he was was freed with assistance from Oman.

Oman also helped secure the release on October 15 of two other US citizens held by the rebels.

* Agence France-Presse