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Yemen Humanitarian Update Issue 7 (18 April – 6 May 2019) [EN/AR]

Countries
Yemen
Sources
OCHA
Publication date

KEY ISSUES:

  • Increased displacement and civilian casualties amid escalating violence; heaviest fighting reported in Al Dhale’e Governorate.

  • Humanitarian response to displacement continues; 10,000 Rapid Response Mechanism kits are prepositioned in Hajjah and 3,000 in Al Hudaydah governorates.

  • WFP technical team accesses the Red Sea Mills in Al Hudaydah Governorate after eight months to try to salvage 51,000 metric tons of wheat flour.

  • Up to 5,000 migrants detained in Aden, Lahj and Abyan governorates.

  • Allocation from the Yemen Humanitarian Fund Standard Allocation will benefit some 3.7 million people across the country.

  • Fuel shortages have abated but cooking gas remains in short supply mainly in Sa’ada

HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE SCALED UP AS NEEDS SPIKE DUE TO ESCALATED VIOLENCE

Fighting sporadically escalated in different parts of Yemen in recent weeks leading to spikes in displacement and civilian casualties. Hotspots included areas in Al Dhale’e and Taizz governorates in the south, and Hajjah in the northwest. Fighting continued to cause civilians casualties in At-Tuhayta and Ad Durayhimi City in Al Hudaydah Governorate.

Airstrikes and shelling were reported in the border areas of Sa’ada, and there was an increase in violence in and around Sana’a Governorate where airstrikes, explosions and artillery shelling damaged homes and farms.

In the last week of April, the heaviest fighting was in Al Dhale’e Governorate with reports of 700 displaced families arriving in Qa’atabah and Al Dhale’e districts.

OHCHR confirmed that on 27 April, an airstrike hit a car in the Al Awod area in Qa’atabah District killing eight passengers. Partners worked to respond to the needs of internally displaced persons (IDPs), and to scale up particularly in Qa’atabah District where WFP began distributing food to 3,300 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and local families. Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) kits are being replenished and food assistance and Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA) for a month is planned. A local partner started distributing RRM kits in Qa’atabah but is running out of stock; the MPCA and a one-month food ration will bridge the shortfall until more kits are received. UNHCR, working through a local partner has provided 1,970 displaced families with NFIs in Qa’atabah, Al Hussein and Ad Dhale’e.

In Taizz Governorate, fighting between rival factions was reported from 19 April, and intensified around the old city from 24 April onwards. Exact casualty figures are not available but an international medical NGO indicated that by 25 April, 31 injured civilians were admitted to hospitals it supports. On the same day, OHCHR confirmed that one girl was killed, and two other children were injured by shrapnel as they were leaving their school in Wadi Al-Qadhi, in Al Mudhaffar District. There were no confirmed reports of population displacement in Taizz.

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.