U.N. says 10,000 killed in Yemen war, nearly twice other estimates

 At least 10,000 people have been killed in Yemen's 18-month-old civil war, the UN said on Tuesday, almost double the estimates of more than 6,000 cited by officials and aid workers for much of 2016.


U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator, Jamie McGoldrick, told a news conference in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, that the new figure was based on official information from medical facilities in Yemen.

``It might rise as some areas had no medical facilities, and people were often buried without any official record being made.

``The conflict has displaced three million Yemenis and forced 200,000 people to seek refuge abroad,’’ McGoldrick said.

The UN had information that 900,000 of those displaced intended to try to return to their homes, he said.

"This is a big challenge, especially in areas still experiencing conflict," McGoldrick said.

``Some 14 million of Yemen's 26 million populations need food aid and 7 million are suffering from food insecurity,’’ he said. 

(Reuters/NAN)