GENEVA
More than 540 people have been killed and 1,700 wounded during ongoing fighting in Yemen in recent weeks, according to the World Health Organization.
A WHO spokesperson told a press conference in Geneva on Tuesday: "More than 540 people have been killed and some 1,700 others wounded by the violence in Yemen since 19 March."
The comments came a day after UN children's agency UNICEF said that children were killed and injured as the ongoing conflict intensified over the past weeks.
UNICEF's Yemen Representative Julien Harneis said from the Jordanian capital of Amman: "At least 74 children have been killed and 44 others wounded.
"Children are paying an intolerable price for this conflict. They are being killed, maimed and forced to flee their homes, their health threatened and their education interrupted."
'Dangerous conditions'
More than 100,000 people have fled their homes since Saudi-led coalition air strikes began in March 24 and "hospitals are under increasing pressure as they struggle to manage mass casualties with insufficient supplies", according to UNICEF.
UNICEF said in a statement: "At least three health workers including an ambulance driver were killed" as some fighters targeted hospitals and medical facilities.
UNICEF’s Dr. Gamila Hibatullah in Aden said: "Conditions are very dangerous right now. Hospitals are overflowing, and even ambulances have been hijacked."
Fractious Yemen has appeared to be on the brink of a civil war in recent months, with the powerful Shiite Houthi movement seeking to expand its influence beyond the capital, Sanaa, which it overran last September.
Houthi positions in Yemen have been subject to frequent attacks by warplanes since March 24 from countries participating in the Saudi-led campaign.
