CRI听力:UN Launches Appeal to Aid People in Yemen

The United Nations has launched an appeal to aid 7.5 million people in Yemen as fighting and air strikes continue intensifying in the region.

Local sources indicate about 150-thousand people have been displaced, 50 percent more than the previous U.N. estimate.

Jens Laerke is a spokesperson for the UN's humanitarian affairs office:

"The number of food insecure people has increased from 10.6 million to now 12 million; food prices have gone up by more than 40 percent in some places and fuel prices have gone up by 400 percent".

Meanwhile, Adrian Edwards, spokesperson for the UN refugee agency mentions that people already in need of support are also facing psychological trauma.

"Indiscriminate shelling, militants forcibly entering private homes, and landmines are just a few of the reported problems contributing to major protection needs. In Yemen airstrikes and conflicts are having an extremely traumatic impact leaving people, especially children, in need psycho-social support."

Yemen was in a large-scale humanitarian crisis even before the current conflict. It is estimated that 61 percent of the local population is in need of humanitarian aid.