Saudi King Salman orders $274 mln in Yemen aid

Saudi Arabia, which has been fighting Houthi militias in Yemen since March 26, on Saturday announced $274 million in humanitarian aid for the embattled country.

The pledge, which the official SPA news agency said was ordered by King Salman, came after a U.N. appeal Friday for $274 million to provide emergency assistance to the millions affected by the conflict.

The United Nations launched an appeal on Friday for almost $275 million to aid 7.5 million people in Yemen over the next three months, as fighting intensifies in the south and air strikes pound 18 of Yemen’s 22 provinces.

In response to the aid, Yemen's internationally recognized President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi thanked the Saudi king.

About 150,000 people have been displaced, 50 percent more than the previous U.N. estimate, the U.N. humanitarian agency OCHA said, citing local sources. The agency said health facilities had reported 767 deaths from March 19 to April 13, almost certainly an underestimate.

“Thousands of families have now fled their homes as a result of the fighting and air strikes,” the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, Johannes Van Der Klaauw, said in a statement.
“Ordinary families are struggling to access health care, water, food and fuel - basic requirements for their survival.”

The fighting had destroyed, damaged or disrupted at least five hospitals, 15 schools, Yemen’s three main airports, two bridges, two factories and four mosques, as well as markets, power stations and water and sanitation facilities, OCHA said.

[With Reuters]