Cholera cases in Yemen surpass 700,000: WHO

SANAA, Yemen

A whopping 704,454 cases of cholera have been registered in Yemen since April 27, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

In a report released Thursday, the WHO also said at least 2,103 cholera-related deaths had been recorded in 22 out of Yemen’s 23 provinces.

Yemen’s Socotra province, a small four-island archipelago in the Arabian Sea, is the only part of the country to remain unaffected by the epidemic.

According to the WHO, the highest number of fatalities -- almost 400 -- were recorded in Yemen’s northwestern Hajjah province, while the most number of cases -- more than 91,000 -- have been recorded in the western Hudaida province.

Yemen has remained dogged by violence since 2014, when Shia rebels overran much of the country. The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia launched an air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, more than 3 million Yemenis have fled their homes since the conflict began, while more than 20 million are in need of humanitarian assistance.

*Reporting by Mohamed al-Samei; Writing by Ali Abo Rezeg