SANAA, Yemen (AP) — The United Nations' refugee agency says most of the population of Yemen's Hodeida has been forced to flee amid a Saudi-led coalition offensive to take the key Red Sea port city from the country's Shiite rebels.
Friday's statement by UNHCR says nearly three quarters of Hodeida's estimated 600,000 people have escaped since June. It says the figure underscores the dire situation in the port city, which serves as entry point for food and aid.
UNHCR expressed concern over the safety of those trapped in Hodeida as the intensified military operations "are increasingly confining populations and cutting off exit routes."
The coalition, battling the rebels since March 2015, is under mounting international pressure to end the war which has caused what the U.N. says is the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
