UN Aid Chief':

Humanitarian Conditions in Yemen 'Shocking

TEHRAN (defapress) - UN aid Chief Mark Lowcock on Saturday voiced alarm at the "shocking" humanitarian conditions in conflict-hit Yemen and called on warring parties to respect international law.

News ID: 66730

Date: 28 October 2017 - 18:30

Concluding a five-day mission, his first to Yemen, the UN head of humanitarian affairs and emergency relief said the war in the impoverished Arab nation should end through a political process, AFP reported.

"I came to Yemen to better understand the deteriorating humanitarian crisis, including the fastest-growing cholera epidemic the world has ever seen, the world's largest food insecurity and conditions of widespread population displacement," Lowcock said.

"It's been shocking to see the terrible impact of this man-made conflict," he told reporters before leaving Sana'a.

"The UN calls on all parties... to uphold the highest standards of international humanitarian law and respect human rights with respect to everyone including detainees and journalists," he added.

Lowcock is scheduled to speak at a one-day high-level meeting on the humanitarian response to the Yemen crisis in Riyadh on Sunday.

He said he urged officials in Aden and Sana'a to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches all those who need it, and called for reopening Sana'a airport for commercial and humanitarian flights.

Lowcock said he saw severely malnourished children, visited hospitals with barely any electricity and water and met health workers who have not been paid for months.

The United Nations is providing direct assistance to seven million Yemenis, but the programme needs to do more and it requires more support, he said.