United Nations: 8,000 displaced in Yemen conflict

, Sept 5: At least 8,000 Yemenis have been displaced due to a recent conflict in the Arab country, a UN spokesman said on Thursday.

"The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that fighting in northern Yemen has displaced about 8,000 people in recent weeks," Xinhua quoted UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq as saying.

Noting information is limited and access is difficult even for local NGO, Haq said the majority of people displaced by recent conflict in Amran have returned home as conflict subsided.

The spokesman added that, in August, a national polio immunization campaign in Yemen, supported by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), reached 96 percent of 4.9 million targeted children under five years old.

Yemen has been undergoing a shaky political transition after the government was formed in 2012 following a year-long protest that led to the resignation of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Taking advantage of the security vacuum, Shia rebels have since expanded their control over northern provinces. They have controlled the northern Saada province since August 2010, when they signed a ceasefire deal with the government and ended a six-year intermittent war.

IANS