United Nations, February 18 (RHC)-- The United Nations has warned that the situation in war-ravaged Yemen is further deteriorating as the Arab country is facing the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world.   “The humanitarian crisis in Yemen remains the worst in the world,” said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in a statement.  “An estimated 80 percent of the population  -- 24 million people -- require some form of humanitarian or protection assistance, including 14.3 million who are in acute need,” it added.

Saudi Arabia invaded Yemen in March 2015 in an attempt to reinstall Yemen’s former President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who had resigned amid popular discontent and fled to Riyadh, and to eliminate the Houthi Ansarullah movement, which had been running state affairs.

The invasion, which has failed to achieve any of its goals, has reportedly killed over 56,000 people. The imposed war has also taken a heavy toll on the country’s infrastructure, destroying hospitals, schools, and factories.

UNICEF warns of a lost generation as 500,000 Yemeni children flee fighting.  The Saudi-led military campaign has also paved the way for the outbreak of epidemics, most notably cholera, in the impoverished country.

“Severity of needs is deepening, with the number of people in acute need a staggering 27 percent higher than last year,” the OCHA statement further read.  It also warned that two-thirds of the Arab country was “already pre-famine”, while one-third faced “acute vulnerabilities.”

With the war drawn into a deadlock, Saudi Arabia is virtually mired in a quagmire, having faced repeated military backlashes in Yemen and reprisal attacks inside its own territories.