Yemen fighting overwhelms hospitals, cuts aid to 800,000 people, relief agencies say

GENEVA: Hospitals across Yemen are struggling to cope with a sharp rise in war casualties, while intensified fighting along multiple front lines has cut off aid to around 800,000 people, humanitarian agencies said on Wednesday (Oct 14).

Front-line hospitals in areas including Marib, Taiz and Yemen's Red Sea coast are seeing unprecedented numbers of weapon-wounded patients, with some facilities admitting more than 700 casualties in a single week, according to the Red Cross.

More ⁠than 200,000 people have ⁠been displaced from their homes since fighting in the country began in recent weeks, sparked by renewed ⁠fighting between ⁠the Iran-backed Houthi group and Saudi-backed government forces in Yemen, according to ‌the United Nations' International ‌Organization for Migration.

"Trauma care staff are under enormous pressure," ICRC health coordinator Feras Abusamra said in a statement. Only a small proportion of Yemen's functioning health facilities are capable of providing comprehensive trauma care, he said, while hospitals face large numbers of wounded people amid shortages of surgical supplies, anesthesia, oxygen and medicines.

Yemen's health services, battered by more than a decade of conflict, economic crisis, displacement and disease outbreaks, may have limited capacity to absorb a new surge in mass casualties if fighting intensifies further, the ICRC warned.

The fighting has also cut off life-saving humanitarian assistance for 800,000 people in Taiz - Yemen's third-largest city, which currently hosts the largest number of people fleeing the fighting - and other areas impacted by the conflict, the UN World Food Programme said on Wednesday.

Some districts are now inaccessible because of fighting and road closures, the WFP said, adding that wheat flour stocks are nearly exhausted and remaining food in local markets may last only a short time.

"This is the kind of situation that can rapidly spiral into a humanitarian catastrophe if assistance cannot move safely and reach those who need it most," said El-Khidir Daloum, WFP Representative and Country Director in Yemen, in a statement.