Top UN aid official in Yemen voices concern over safety of civilians in Taizz

Jamie McGoldrick, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, on Tuesday said that he is "extremely concerned" about the safety and well-being of civilians in the Dhubab and Al Mokha districts of Taizz Governorate, a UN spokesman said here.

Information from the field indicates that military operations in the coastal region have forced most residents of Dhubab to flee the area, while in Mokha an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 people, almost one third of the population, are trapped in the town and require immediate protection and relief assistance, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

"Repeated airstrikes, shelling and sniper attacks in and around the town of Al Mokha have killed and injured scores of civilians and have ground most services to a halt, including the main market and the water supply system.

Meanwhile, "the humanitarian coordinator is equally concerned over reports that roads and bridges connecting the port city of Al Hudaydah with other governorates have been damaged and destroyed by airstrikes in recent days," Dujarric said.

"He deplored such actions, as they risk further isolating Yemeni communities and aggravate the already alarming food security situation," said the spokesman.

On Monday, the UN special envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, condemned in the strongest terms the attack on the De-escalation and Coordination Committee building in Dhahran Al-Janoub.

"He said that it was especially tragic that this attack took place at a point in time where we are calling for a restoration of the Cessation of Hostilities," the spokesman said.

The building attacked was supposed to host the committee that will oversee the Cessation of Hostilities and report on violations, Dujarric said.

The UN envoy said that the United Nations maintains a regular presence in this building and this incident is not a sign of good faith.

The situation in Yemen has deteriorated economically and politically since March 2015, when war broke out between the Shiite Houthi group, supported by former President Ali Abdullash Saleh, and the government backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition.

Houthis and Saleh's forces hold most of Yemen's northern regions while government forces backed by Saudi-led military coalition share control of the rest of the country including seven southern provinces.

The civil war, ground battles and airstrikes have already killed more than 10,000 people, half of them civilians, injured more than 35,000 others and displaced over two millions, according to humanitarian agencies.

source: Xinhua