Families continue to flee violence in Yemeni capital

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that many families have left the affected areas in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, due to damage to homes and fear of continued airstrikes, a UN spokesman said here Tuesday. But he added that figures related to displacement have not been verified.

"Over the past week, two vessels carrying supplies to support humanitarian operations arrived at the Port of Hudaydah, including 7,000 metric tonnes of food supplies and over 450 metric tonnes of other aid supplies," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

In addition, 43,000 metric tonnes of fuel were delivered by commercial carriers to that port as well as Salif, he said.

"Humanitarian organizations reported that Hudaydah seaport is increasingly congested with long delays due to lack of manpower, fuel and sufficient telecommunications," he said. "There are currently at least six ships waiting at sea to dock and off-load, with extended delays posing risks to any perishable goods aboard those aid ships."

"Onward distribution from the port remains challenging due to insecurity and restrictions on movement, he said. "One humanitarian partner reports that insecurity and fighting postponed implementation of cash transfer programming to 400 families in Hajjah Governorate."

UN-brokered peace talks are due to take place in Geneva on June 14 aimed at ending weeks of conflict which have killed more than 2, 000 people.

The humanitarian crisis in Yemen has been described as " catastrophic" by the United Nations with 20 million civilians -- 80 percent of the population -- in need of aid.

In mid-May, the United Nations said that some 1,850 people had been killed and more than 500,000 displaced as a result of the conflict raging in Yemen since late March.

As of May 15, 1,849 people had been killed and 7,394 had been injured, the UN humanitarian agency said citing numbers from Yemen health facilities.

The UN has repeatedly stressed that many of those injured and killed do not pass through health facilities, meaning the actual toll could be higher.

The announcement came as witnesses reported that Saudi-led warplanes hit Yemeni rebels and their allies in Sanaa, in the first strikes on the rebel-held capital since the end of a five- day humanitarian truce on Sunday.

The Saudi-led coalition has waged an air war on the rebels since late March in an effort to restore the authority of exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, who is now based in Riyadh.

Yemen has mired in political gridlock since 2011 when mass protests forced former President Ali Abdullash Saleh to step down. The three-year reconciliation talks failed to resolve the crisis but create huge power vacuum that could benefit the powerful al- Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and other extremist groups.

Yemen is the base of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a powerful offshoot of the jihadist militant group that has carried out similar suicide attacks on Houthi supporters.

However, the terrorist Islamic State (IS), also known as ISIL or ISIS, is also gaining ground in the country. Endite