UN says at least 290,000 displaced as Yemen fighting intensifies

The OCHA report warned that 65,000 refugees and asylum seekers in Yemen face a rapidly deteriorating situation, with services disrupted and food and fuel prices rapidly rising. Aid groups have delivered food, hygiene supplies and emergency cash to about 249,000 people, about three in four among the displaced, and the UN has sent mobile teams and midwives to displacement sites.

Yemen's civil war began in September 2014 when Houthi forces captured the capital Sanaa, forcing the government south. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in March 2015 to support government-aligned forces. Following several truces, fighting re-erupted after Yemeni government forces targeted Sanaa International airport.

The conflict has reached across Yemen's borders. On Saturday, the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted a drone over the Riyadh region. On Friday, Saudi Arabia said drones had been downed near Mecca, Medina and Riyadh. Coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki said no casualties had been reported from the Riyadh interception. A Houthi attack on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport on October 10 killed at least 13 people and wounded more than 300. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree denied launching drones towards Saudi territory, calling the claims "egregious lies".

On the diplomatic front, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud discussed the conflict with US, Russian and European counterparts at the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting in Atlanta, according to the Saudi state news agency. He and Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand issued a joint condemnation of Houthi attacks on the kingdom. On the ground, Yemen's internationally recognised government said the Houthis had fired at least three ballistic missiles at the Maashiq presidential palace and missiles at Aden International airport. The government's cabinet called the airport strike a "direct attack on the interest of citizens". Government forces spokesman Majed Abdullah al-Nuzaili said they had "neutralised" about 336 Houthi fighters and commanders in recent hours.

The civilian toll continues to mount. The UN has verified 270 civilian casualties since August, including 68 killed, half of whom are children. The Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms recorded at least 189 civilian deaths in Taiz province between September and October, including 38 children. Taiz city has been bitterly contested throughout Yemen's civil war, and the Houthis have tightened their grip around Taiz. Roads have also been closed by fighting, blocking food, medicine and fuel to two million people in the vicinity.