United Nations, October 08: UN humanitarian chief John Holmes will visit volatile Yemen this week to highlight the humanitarian crisis resulting from a government offensive against Shiite rebels in the country’s north, his office said.
Holmes, who heads the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, would visit Yemen from Thursday through Sunday “in order to draw international attention to the ongoing humanitarian situation and galvanize support for the affected population.”
Holmes was to hold talks with Yemeni authorities and UN officials as well as tour camps for civilians displaced by the fighting between government troops and Shiite insurgents.
The humanitarian crisis erupted after Yemen’s army launched its “Operation Scorched Earth” on August 11 in a bid to crush an uprising that erupted in 2004 and was led by the Zaidi rebels.
The Zaidis make up the majority of the population in the northwest corner of Yemen, but are a minority in the mainly Sunni country.
—Agencies