Bahrain Mirror: Oxfam announced on Friday that one civilian has been killed every three hours in fighting in Yemen since the beginning of August, with many more people succumbing to disease and hunger, calling on the UK, US and other governments to suspend arms sales to the Saudis because of their disregard for civilian lives in the war in Yemen.

Oxfam's statement said that Yemenis face the triple threat of war, disease and hunger. Between 1 August and 15 October, 575 civilians were killed in the fighting, including 136 children and 63 women. There have been more than 1.1 million cases of cholera in the last 18 months, with over 2,000 of those proving fatal. And there have been over 100 deaths from diphtheria over a similar period. The UN warned this week that more than 14 million could die from starvation if the war continues.

Muhsin Siddiquey, Oxfam's Country Director in Yemen said: "Every single life lost to this shameful conflict, be it through armed attacks, or through starvation and disease, should be an international outrage."

"Backers of all the warring parties should realise that they are complicit in this man-made crisis. Governments must comply with all international legal obligations to do their utmost to prevent civilian casualties or damage to civilian infrastructure. The international community urgently needs to do everything it can to get all sides in this war to agree a ceasefire," he added.

Since 2014, Yemen has been embroiled in a war between Houthi rebels and pro-government forces, escalating with Saudi intervention at the head of a military alliance in March 2015 in support of the government after rebel control of large areas including the capital Sanaa.

The conflict in Yemen since March 2015, according to the United Nations, has killed more than ten thousand people- human rights organizations estimate the real number of deaths five times that figure- and cause the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

This week, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock warned that 14 million people could be "on the verge of famine" in the coming months in Yemen if the situation in the country continues.

Arabic Version