Angelina Jolie visits refugees in war-torn Yemen

SANAA, Yemen (AA) – Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie visited a refugee camp in Yemen’s southwestern Lahj province on Monday, as part of her visit to the war-ravaged Arab country.

"UNHCR's Special Envoy, Angelina Jolie's first stop in Yemen today [Monday] was at a site in Lahj governorate," UNHCR said on Twitter.

Jolie spoke “to displaced women who struggle to make ends meet," it added.

UNHCR noted that "35 families fled their homes during the conflict to find shelter there but are barely surviving."

Angelina Jolie arrived in the southern city of Aden on Sunday on a trip aimed to draw attention to the catastrophic consequences of the 8-year conflict in Yemen.

Yemen has been engulfed by violence and instability since 2014, when Iran-aligned Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

The conflict has created one of the world's worst man-made humanitarian crises, with nearly 80% of the country, or about 30 million people, in need of humanitarian assistance and protection and more than 13 million are in danger of starvation, according to UN estimates.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar