Thousands more in the war-ravaged areas on the Yemeni-Saudi border are fleeing the continuous war against the Houthi rebels, in an alarming surge requiring more to be done for the refugees.
The surge comes as the war against the insurgents, who have been fighting the Yemeni army since 2004 in the north, entered a new phase, with Saudi troops launching land and air raids against the Houthis in Saada as Houthis still control a Saudi border region.
The refugees, mostly elderly, children, pregnant women and widows, fled the confrontations between the Saudi forces and the Houthi rebels on the border, the UNHCR said.
A UNHCR official confirmed that over the last six days more than 200 families arrive at the Mezrq refugee camp every day.
Those who arrived at the camp were about 2100 people, Mai Brazi, head of a delegation from the UNHCR Humanitarian Network currently visiting the refugee camps in Yemen said.
Moreover, the Public Relations Officer at the Sana’a-based UNHCR’s office said that 11000 more refugees went to their relatives including those returned by Saudis after they previously fled to Saudi territories.
The number of refugees from the war between the Yemeni army and the rebels in Saada and Amran was, according to previously confirmed statistics, said to be more than 100,000 people, with warnings the number could rise amid the persistent clashes.
With new refugees arriving at the camp every day, the UNHCR suggested a new camp to accommodate more refugees.
In this regard, the UNHCR said it plans to set up a new camp for the displaced from the confrontations in Harf Sufyan of Amran province.
The announcement was made during a meeting between the province deputy governor and a UNHCR representative.
Since the new confrontations erupted in August, the UN has made many calls urging both sides to make secured pathways to deliver aid for thousands of the affected.
The calls came as the displaced were stranded and were in urgent need for shelter, food and healthcare.
At the end, it requested the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to allow using its border corridors to reach the displaced and the request was accepted by the Saudis.