DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The number of civilian casualties in war-torn
Yemen has dropped by over 50 percent since a two-month truce took effect in
early April, an aid group said on Wednesday.
اضافة اعلان
The Norwegian
Refugee Council — which has been providing food, shelter, and other necessities
to mitigate what the
UN describes as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis —
said civilian casualties totaled 95 in April, down from 213 in March, citing data
from the Civilian Impact Monitoring Project.
“The figures
provide clear proof of the benefits from the truce. During the last month, many
families were spared from having their lives shattered by the loss of family
members to a meaningless war,” NRC’s Yemen country director Erin Hutchinson
said in a statement.
“For the sake of
the Yemeni people and their future, we hope the parties to the conflict will
extend the truce.”
The Yemen
conflict pits the internationally recognized government, supported by a
Saudi-led
military coalition, against Iran-backed HOuthi rebels.
It has killed
hundreds of thousands of people and pushed the Arab world’s poorest country to
the brink of famine.
But a renewable
two-month truce that took effect on April 2 has provided a rare respite from
violence in much of the country.
The
NRC said
there had been a “significant reduction” in the number of people killed or
wounded by air strikes, shelling and gunfire.
However, it
added that despite a sharp reduction in violence, the number of casualties from
landmines and unexploded ordnance remained the same or higher.
“We urge the
warring parties to adhere to their commitments and work to find a peaceful
resolution to this conflict, which has already killed and maimed thousands, and
deprived millions of their livelihoods,” Hutchinson said.
“That people are still
being injured and killed by landmines and improvised explosive devices shows
the critical need for a long-lasting peace, so that these remnants of war can
be removed and more lives saved.”
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