ANKARA 

Over 23,000 civilians have been displaced by the ongoing conflict in Yemen since the beginning of this year, the United Nations said. 

“We want to reiterate our concern about the grave situation in the country, including the impact of the ongoing conflict, which is causing civilian casualties on a daily basis,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told a news briefing.

“More than 23,000 people have been displaced since the start of the year, most of them in Hudaydah, Marib, Shabwah and Taiz governorates. They join more than four million men, women, and children who have been displaced across Yemen since the latest escalation got underway in 2015,” he added.

The UN spokesman warned that acute funding shortages are threatening the flow of humanitarian aid to war-torn Yemenis.

“At the start of this year, two-thirds of major UN aid programmes had already been forced to reduce or close due to lack of cash. Further cuts are on the horizon if funding is not received,” he warned.

Dujarric called on donors to make generous aid pledges during a planned donor conference for Yemen on March 16.

“We also urge donors to commit funds before the pledging conference to avoid major disruptions in our humanitarian operations,” he said.

Yemen has been engulfed by violence and instability since 2014, when Iran-aligned Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

A Saudi-led coalition aimed at reinstating the Yemeni government has worsened the situation, causing one of the world’s worst man-made humanitarian crises, with nearly 80% or around 30 million people needing humanitarian assistance and protection and more than 13 million in danger of starvation, according to UN estimates.