More than 2,000 Yemenis claimed by cholera: WHO

By Mohamed al-Samei

MARIB, Yemen

A total of 2,054 people have been killed by a cholera outbreak in war-torn Yemen since late April, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday.

In a statement, the UN agency said 618,209 suspected cases of cholera have been registered in the country since April 27.

The Al-Hudayda province saw the biggest disease outbreak, with 77,286 registered cases, while the Hajjah province topped the death toll with 386.

According to the UN, around 15 million people in the country lack sufficient health care as medical centers have been disrupted by the war.

Impoverished Yemen has remained in a state of civil war since 2014, when Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

The conflict escalated when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a massive air campaign in 2015 aimed at reversing Houthi military gains and shoring up Yemen’s embattled government.

According to UN officials, more than 10,000 people have been killed in the war, while more than 11 percent of the country’s population has been displaced as a direct result of the conflict.

Reporting by Mohamed al-Samei; Writing by Mahmoud Barakat