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UN agency warns of famine risk in Yemen

Xinhua, November 3, 2015 Adjust font size:

Almost half of Yemen's 22 governorates are facing emergency level food insecurity -- one step below famine -- according to the World Food Program, a UN spokesman said here Monday.

"Yemen's fragile food security is deteriorating fast," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here. "Ten out of Yemen's 22 governorates are classified as facing food insecurity at emergency level -- one step below famine."

Yemen has been facing a mounting humanitarian crisis since conflict broke out in the already impoverished Arab country in March.

The Middle East country's extremely fragile humanitarian situation may be further worsened Tuesday when a category 3 cyclone is expected to hit Yemen's mainland, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned.

"A category 3 cyclone is bearing down on Yemen's southern coast and expected to make landfall at 9:00 a.m. local time (0600 GMT) on Tuesday," said Dujarric. "The effects of the cyclone may be felt over large parts of Yemen but are likely to be more severe in the coastal governorates Shabwah and Hadhramaut."

These governorates have a combined population of about 1.8 million people, 1.4 million of whom are already considered in need of humanitarian support, according to Dujarric. Endit