Al-Sharq: Humanitarian Disasters in Yemen Required Immediate and Stronger International Action

Doha, August 09 (QNA) - In its editorial Thursday, Al-Sharq Qatari newspaper expressed regret for the shocking figures that show a small part of the overall scene of the humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen, calling for an immediate international action to ensure the protection of civilians and support the efforts of the UN Envoy to push forward the parties to the crisis towards a political solution and activate the national dialogue. The efforts exerted to deal with the ongoing war in Yemen for the fourth year in a row and its humanitarian catastrophe, the worst in the world, are still not enough, the paper said, pointing out that the number of victims of the war is more than 60,000, including more than 10,000 dead, according to the latest statistics provided by the United Nations last year. The most striking feature of the humanitarian scene in Yemen, is that 16 million people still in need for the basic humanitarian assistance and health care, including eight million vulnerable to famine, the paper said. The country also is threatened by a third wave of cholera, adding more victims to the more than one million Yemenis infected by the epidemic, the Qatari daily said. In addition, there are still three million displaced people in Yemen because of the war, the paper said, adding that this number is rising, as displacement continues. In the city of Hodeidah, at least 350,000 people have been displaced, it added. Moreover, more than one million employees did not receive their salaries for two years, the paper said. In conclusion, Al-Sharq called for a serious and active action by the international community to ensure the protection of civilians and to support the efforts of the United Nations to push forwards all parties to the crisis towards a political solution, especially in light of these frightening figures. (QNA)