Turkish charity group aids 1,150 families in Yemen

By Elif Kucuk

ISTANBUL (AA) - A Turkish aid group distributed humanitarian aid to families living in the tent cities of the war-ravaged Yemen, the charity announced on Wednesday.

The Istanbul-based Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) provided blankets and coats to 1,150 families in Hanik district of the capital Sanaa, it said in a statement.

Some 21 million people out of 27.4 million population of Yemen face food shortage, while 10 million people are in need of emergency assistance, according to the IHH.

The statement underlined that thousands of people died in the country due to the conflict, hunger, cholera and various epidemics.

At least 85,000 children lost their lives in Yemen, while some 16,000 people died in the civil war, the charity group said citing international reports.

Over 200,000 people have benefited by aid campaigns of IHH in Yemen this year.

The aid group will continue its activities in the war-torn country until the crisis is resolved, it said earlier.

Impoverished Yemen has remained wracked by violence since 2014, when Shia Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital city.

The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-Arab allies launched a massive air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.