Five years of war have gutted Yemen, making it highly vulnerable to an outbreak.
The conflict has created what the U.N. calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with over 10,000 people killed, millions suffering from food and medical shortages, and the country on the brink of famine. Larger than the size of California and home to more than 28 million people on the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen has seen its economy collapse, a cholera epidemic that has killed nearly 4,000 people and devastating fighting for half a decade now.
With the threat of COVID-19 spreading throughout the Middle East, U.N. special envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths called for a halt to fighting and the launch of"a formal ceasefire process." Griffiths said last Thursday that he had been consulting with all the parties daily and working to convene their two sides via teleconference"soonest possible."Dust rises from the site of a Saudi-led air strike in Sanaa, Yemen, March 30, 2020.
Griffiths welcomed it as a"critical moment for Yemen" and urged the parties to"now utilize this opportunity and cease immediately all hostilities with the utmost urgency, and make progress towards comprehensive and sustainable peace."The decision does not preclude Saudi forces from defending themselves or responding to attacks on the kingdom, the official said.
Medical personnel check people's temperature on the street as a precautionary measure against the spread of coronavirus COVID-19, April 5, 2020 on the outskirts of Sana'a, Yemen. Yemen has not reported any cases of coronavirus, but still faces a humanitarian catastrophe due to years of internal conflict.
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