UNITED NATIONS: After seeing first hand the “shocking” devastation in Yemen’s main port city of Aden, the top United Nations relief official in the country has described the humanitarian consequences of the conflict as “catastrophic”, making an urgent plea for safe, unhindered access to aid workers and a big jump in funding.

“The intensification of violence and conflict over the past four months have devastated the city and destroyed the lives and livelihood of the majority of its people. As has become all too familiar in the context of war, civilians are paying the heaviest price,” the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, Johannes van der Klaauw, said in a statement released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Monday.

“I heard numerous accounts of death, hunger and utter desperation as mothers and fathers struggle to find safety, security and care for their loved ones.”

Mr Klaauw’s remarks come just hours after UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the announcement by the Saudi-led coalition of a unilateral five-day humanitarian pause in Yemen.

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play