AL-MUKLALA: Four internally displaced people were killed and several others injured on Sunday in central Yemen's Marib province as torrential rains and strong winds collapsed their tents.
The four deaths bring the total number of deaths in Yemen to 61, the same number as the UN has reported since late July.
The internationally recognized government agency for internally displaced people in Marib has told Arab News of the deaths, injuries and chaos caused by the weather.
People tweeted photos and videos of destroyed houses, makeshift shelters and electricity poles at Jaw Al-Naseem camp in Marib, parts of which were almost completely destroyed by strong winds.
Marib hosts more than two million displaced people fleeing war and Houthi atrocities in their area.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Sunday that heavy rains and flooding had affected 34,260 homes in Yemen, causing widespread damage and killing 57 people and injuring 16, with the toll expected to rise.
According to the United Nations Humanitarian Office on flash floods in Yemen, between 28 July and 9 August, 31 people were killed and 6,042 households were affected in Yemen's western Hodeidah province, 2,753 households were affected in the northern Hajjah province, and two people were reported killed and 3,451 households were affected in the northern Saada province. In the southern Taiz province, 15 people were killed and 6,494 households were affected.
Last week, at least 30 people were killed and dozens left homeless when heavy rains and flooding wreaked havoc in the city of Hodeidah, destroying homes, farmland and other properties.
Yemen's National Meteorological Center again warned Yemenis across the country on Sunday not to drive into or into rivers, as heavy rain, flooding and strong winds were expected in higher areas and western and southern Yemen.
Meanwhile, the Yemeni government reiterated its call on Sunday to the international community to help thousands of the country's flood victims, clear highways and restore services in four provinces.
Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad al-Alimi said in a meeting with US Ambassador to Yemen Steven H. Fagin that the country urgently needs humanitarian assistance to address the damage caused by floods and attacks in the provinces of Hajjah, Hodeidah, Taiz and Marib.
Meanwhile, local tribesmen have persuaded the Houthis to end their siege and cease their offensive against a village in Al Baida province after the tribesmen agreed to surrender seven suspects suspected of murdering a local Houthi spy.
In recent days, the Houthis have surrounded the town of Hamat Sarar in the Walad Rabie area of Al-Bayda and threatened a tank attack after accusing locals of hiding four suspects in the murder of four militants.
However, locals said the Houthis were killed in clashes with locals when fighters at a Houthi-controlled checkpoint killed one of them.
According to Yemeni activist Nasser Ali al-Sane from Al-Bayda, the villagers decided to surrender some of the local people to tribal mediation and held small protests to show their support for the Houthis in exchange for them ending their attacks on the village.
“People knew that the Houthi response would be very bad, so they decided to hold a rally and hand over some villagers to end the bloodshed,” Al-Sane said.
The incident comes as Yemeni government officials, local and international NGOs, have warned of a “massacre” if the Houthis attack the village, as Yemeni armed forces gather troops and tanks and fly drones over the village in preparation for the attack.
“SAM calls on the Houthis to immediately lift the siege of Hamat Sarar and stop the 10-year-old policy of intimidation and repression against civilians in the area,” the Geneva-based SAM for Rights and Freedoms said in a statement on Sunday.
