Saudi Arabia hosts a conference to support Yemen
Saudi Arabia will host a donors' conference to support Yemen on June 2, at a time when the conflict-torn country is facing the threat of an outbreak of the new coronavirus.
The conference will be held via the Internet in partnership with the United Nations, according to the official Saudi Press Agency. The announcement comes at a time when relief organizations are warning that the outbreak of the coronavirus may have severe consequences after six years of war in Yemen.
Yemen, the poorest country in the Arabian Peninsula, is also facing hunger and disease.
Riyadh, which considers itself one of the largest donors to Yemen since it led a military intervention in 2015 against the Houthis allied to Iran, did not mention the amount expected to be raised.
The Houthis announced the first death in coronavirus in the capital, Sanaa, on Tuesday, which raised new fears of an outbreak in the country.
This brought the number of people who died of the virus in Yemen to four, and the total number of confirmed cases to 22.
The conflict between government forces and the Houthis has escalated since March 2015, and Saudi Arabia has formed a military alliance against the rebels who invaded a large part of the country.
The war has killed tens of thousands, most of them civilians, and the United Nations says about 24 million Yemenis, more than two-thirds of the population, depend on aid.
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ANHA
