Twin cyclones killed 26 in Yemen: UN

11/12/2015 12:19:53 PM

(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)said Thursday that 26 people in Yemen had been killed -- including 18 on Socotra Island -- by cyclones “Chapala” and “Megh” which recently pounded the country.

According to UN Spokesman Stephen Dujjaric the World Food Programme (WFP) and its partners are currently distributing high-energy biscuits to some 25000 effected people in Yemen.

Meanwhilethe UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and its partners are carrying out relief efforts in Yemen’s Shabwah province where around 2700 people have received assistance -- including tents -- along with another 2500 people in Hadramautprovince.

Dujarric however said the humanitarian aid was meeting only a "fraction" of the affected population’s total needs.

Even before the arrival ofthe twin cyclonesthis week and last war-torn Yemenhad stoodon the brink of humanitarian catastrophe.

The countryhas remained in turmoil since September of last year when the Shia Houthi militant group overran capital Sanaa and other parts of the country.

In March Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies began an extensive air campaign aimed at reversing Houthi gains inYemenand restoring the government of Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi.

Since Riyadh launched its air campaign at least 2600Yemeni civilians have been killed and more than 5000 injured while the number of internally displaced people in the country has risen to some 2.3 million according to UN figures.

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