2,134 Yemenis killed by cholera: WHO

By Mohammed al-Samei

SANAA

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recorded at least 2,134 cholera-related deaths in war-torn Yemen since April.

In a statement on Tuesday, the WHO said whopping 777,229 suspected cases of cholera have been registered in the country over the past months.

The UN agency said the northwestern Hajjah province has recorded the highest death toll – almost 400 fatalities, while Socotra province, a small four-island archipelago in the Arabian Sea, was the only part the country that remained unaffected by the epidemic.

Yemen has remained dogged by violence since 2014, when Houthi 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.