United Nations, August 10 (RHC)-- The United Nations children’s agency (UNICEF) has warned that a fresh cholera outbreak is spreading quickly in Yemen’s vital seaport of Hudaydah, amid ongoing attacks by the Saudi-led coalition against the besieged provincial capital.
Cholera infection first became epidemic in Yemen in October 2016 and spread until December the same year, when it decreased.  The second outbreak began in the Arabian Peninsula country in April last year.

UNICEF further said in an attempt to mitigate the risks of the new cholera outbreak, it has launched a week-long cholera oral vaccination campaign, with the cooperation of Yemen’s Ministry of Health, targeting the most vulnerable 500,000 women, children and men in and around the city.

It added that “other mitigating measures implemented by humanitarian organizations include the continued provision of safe drinking water and sanitation facilities.”  Some 15,000 Yemenis have been killed and thousands more injured since the onset of the Saudi-led aggression.

The Saudi-led aggression has also taken a heavy toll on the country's infrastructure, destroying many hospitals, schools, and factories.  The United Nations has already said that a record 22.2 million Yemenis are in dire need of food, including 8.4 million threatened by severe hunger.

Several Western countries, the United States and Britain in particular, are also accused of being complicit in the ongoing aggression as they supply the Riyadh regime with advanced weapons and military equipment as well as logistical and intelligence assistance.