Cholera outbreak kills 746 in Yemen: WHO

By Mohammed al-Samei

SANAA (AA) - At least 746 people have died since a cholera epidemic broke out in Yemen in late April, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

In a Twitter post on Wednesday, the WHO's Yemen office said more than 96,000 suspected cases of cholera had been registered in the war-torn country.

On Tuesday the UN agency said at least 728 Yemenis had died from the epidemic.

Several international organizations -- including the WHO, UNICEF and the Red Cross -- have recently stepped up the delivery of medical supplies to Yemen, where local health authorities have struggled to cope with the outbreak.

Local officials say the ongoing fighting between Saudi-backed government forces and Houthi rebels has frustrated efforts to deal with the crisis.

Impoverished Yemen has remained in a state of civil war since 2014, when the Houthis and their allies overran much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

In 2015, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a massive air campaign aimed at reversing Houthi military gains and shoring up Yemen’s embattled government.

According to UN officials, more than 10,000 people have been killed in the conflict to date, while more than 11 percent of the country’s population has been displaced as a direct result of the conflict.