The ongoing conflict in Yemen has killed at least 5,700 people, including 830 women and children, the United Nations said Wednesday.
The U.N.'s humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, Johannes Van Der Klaauw, warned of dire times to come as basic services continue to collapse in what was already the Arab world's poorest country.
He said 21.2 million people, or 82 percent of the population, require some kind of humanitarian assistance. Fourteen million people lack sufficient access to health care.
"Nearly 320,000 children are acutely malnourished,'' he added.
An estimated 2.3 million people have been forced to flee their homes and another 120,000 have fled the country.
Since March, a coalition led by neighboring Saudi Arabia and backed by the United States in support of Yemen's internationally recognized government has been fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels who had seized large parts of the country, including the capital of Sanaa.
The international community has pleaded for months for the coalition to ease restrictions on crucial commercial imports such as fuel and medical supplies.
