Heavy rains kill dozens in war-torn Yemen: UN

SANAA, Yemen (AA) – At least 77 Yemenis have been killed by heavy rains and flooding in the war-torn country, the United Nations said.

"35,000 families, most of them IDPs (internally displaced people), were affected by heavy rains and flooding between 28 July and 10 August,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement.

OCHA said extreme weather is affecting 16 of Yemen's 22 provinces.

Extreme weather "is expected to continue until 20 August," it added.

Yemen lacks proper infrastructure due to ongoing civil war over the past eight years, which decreased the vital services provided to Yemenis and increased their suffering in times of extreme weather.

Yemen has been engulfed by violence and instability since 2014, when Iran-aligned Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including Sanaa. The Houthis remain in control of the capital, as well as wide swathes of territory, despite a military campaign conducted by Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Arab allies since 2015 aimed at ousting them and restoring the Yemeni government.

The Saudi-led campaign has exacerbated an already dire humanitarian situation in the war-torn nation. Millions suffer from hunger amid persistent famine-like conditions.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar