Displaced Yemeni Families Face Harsh Living Conditions

Thousands of internally displaced Yemeni families are facing harsh living conditions in their displacement camps in Marib province, as the years-long conflict continue to ravage the war-torn country.

Scores of displaced people staged a protest on Sunday to denounce the deterioration of their living conditions and lack of basic needs in their camp that hosts nearly 500 families in Marib, Xinhua news agency reported.

During the protest, the displaced protesters appealed to the country's government and international organizations, especially the World Food Program (WFP), to respond to their demands and provide their families with essential food supplies.

Men, women and children participated in the protest, raising banners calling for an end to their suffering in the camp, and holding slogans reading "We are starved silently. We need water and food".

In March 2020, the Iran-backed Houthi militia staged large military operations and succeeded in capturing key areas in the northern province of al-Jawf, forcing thousands of families to leave their villages and flee to Marib.

Fahed Qatwani, director of the internal displacement unit in al-Jawf, told Xinhua on Monday that nearly 10,553 families were displaced from al-Jawf during the past nine months and are currently distributed in 10 displacement camps in Marib.

Qatwani said that the number of refugees in al-Jawf is estimated at 52,765 and most of them are currently living in Marib.

He stressed all those people are currently at risk of starvation amid a lack of basic living needs such as clean drinking water and food supplies inside their camps.

The local official indicated that there was an urgent need to provide necessary psychological support for the displaced children and provide material assistance to their families including accommodation requirements.

Majid Ayyash, a local Yemeni observer from al-Jawf province, also said the displacement camps in Marib were at risk of collapse and people are starving there.

"The displaced people are now suffering and dying silently due to acute shortages of food, water, and medicines in their camps," said Ayyash.

Yemen has been mired in civil war since late 2014 when the Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the internationally-recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.

The UN describes the humanitarian crisis in Yemen as the worst in the world.