SANAA, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- A UN report said the number of airstrikes and clashes in Yemen increased dramatically in the first half of 2017, causing more civilian casualties and displacements.
The number of airstrikes in Yemen totalled 5,676 in the first six months of 2017, up from 3,936 throughout 2016, while 2,811 ground battles happened in the same period, comparing to 3,610 during 2016, according to the periodic report by the Protection Cluster in Yemen, which was led by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
The northern province of Saada, the main stronghold of dominant Shiite Houthi movement, and the neighboring province of Hajjah, remain among the most affected by the airstrikes and border clashes since 2016, according to the report.
The conflicts in Saada and Hajjah have resulted in 293,000 and 374,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) respectively, accounting for 34 percent of all IDPs in Yemen, the report said.
Both provinces border Saudi Arabia, which is leading an Arab military coalition against Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Taiz, the most bitterly contested province in Yemen, has also witnessed civilians severely impacted by intense, armed clashes, rocket fire, shelling and air strikes, said the report.
The conflict in Taiz has resulted in more than 524,000 IDPs, it added.
The war in Yemen began in March 2015, where the Yemeni government forces, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, has been pit against the Houthi movement and its allied forces loyal to deposed former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The coalition imposed an air and sea blockade to prevent weapons from reaching the Houthis, who seized the capital Sanaa in late 2014 and have seized most of the northern Yemeni provinces.
The war has killed more than 10,000 people, most of them civilians, and displaced about 3 million others, according to UN agencies.
The impoverished Arab country is also suffering the world's largest cholera epidemic, with suspected cases having reached half a million.
