Coalition to snatches lives of Yemenis, as the daily sunrise and sunset

YemenExtra

SH.A.

The United Nations warned that an estimated 18.4 million are expected to perish of war-driven starvation in Yemen by the end of the year, a development that will exacerbate what some say is the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II.

Nearly a month before the June 13 start of the Hodeidah offensive, which has already worsened the humanitarian crisis, Mark Lowcock, U.N. aid chief, said in a statement that 10 million additional Yemenis are expected to starve to death by the end of the year, bringing the number to 18.4 million.

The major Red Sea port of Hodeidah is struggling to unload food and fuel needed ever more urgently by a population riven with hunger and disease.

Before the war, which has killed 16,000 people and displaced more than three millions, the port bustled with workers, sailors and shipping agents trying to ensure smooth delivery of vital supplies to the impoverished country’s 26 million people.

Yemen heavily relies on imports for almost 90 percent of its food and the vast majority of aid.

Hodeida is a strategically important city Yemen’s largest and most vital port where most of aid and food comes through.

The fighting in Hodeida has already forced at least 26,000 people to flee the region and killed more than 250.

More than 22 million people in Yemen need humanitarian assistance or protection. Some 8.4 million people are severely food insecure and at risk of starvation. If conditions do not improve, a further 10 million people will fall into this category by the end of the year.