UNICEF: Shipment of medical supplies, other aid reaches Yemeni capital

The United Nations Children's Fund said Friday that an initial shipment of 16 tons of medical supplies and other aid had landed in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and was being unloaded.

The conflict is exacting a heavy toll on children and families, UNICEF said in a statement.

"The humanitarian situation is worsening all the time, with increasingly limited access to water, basic sanitation and critical health services," UNICEF Yemen Representative Julien Harneis, speaking from the Jordanian capital, Amman, was quoted as saying. "The supplies we have managed to bring in today can make the difference between life and death for children and their families -- but we know they are not enough, and we are planning more of these airlifts."

Toll of dead and wounded tallied

Underscoring the increasing toll being exacted by the fighting in Yemen, the World Health Organization said Friday -- in what it acknowledged was virtually certain to be an underestimate -- that at least 643 people have been killed in the country since the fighting escalated three weeks ago.

"As of 6 April 2015 there have been a total of 643 deaths and 2226 injuries," the WHO, the health arm of the United Nations, said in a statement. "Casualty estimates are likely to change in the coming days as additional cases are verified and reported."

In that same period -- from March 19 to April 6 -- 2,226 people were injured, the WHO said.

But the agency's figures include only deaths and injuries verified by a health facility. Other deaths and injuries have undoubtedly occurred.

UNICEF said its cargo, meant to help up to 80,000 innocents caught up in the havoc, included antibiotics, bandages, syringes, IV sets and other medical supplies. Also included, the agency said, were micronutrients for up to 20,000 children and water storage materials was airlifted through Djibouti from UNICEF's supply center in Denmark.

Increasing numbers fleeing in rickety boats

Security in the country, which is on the Arabian Peninsula, deteriorated sharply last month, when Houthi rebels advanced on the capital, Sanaa, and the port city of Aden, forcing President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi to flee the country.

Since then, Saudi Arabia has launched airstrikes meant to halt the advance of the Houthis. In at least one case, according to Houthi sources, one of those strikes hit a school.

As the violence increases, foreigners, including longtime residents, are fleeing Yemen. And an increasing number of desperate Yemenis are taking to rickety fishing boats to attempt the dangerous five-hour crossing of the Red Sea to Djibouti, where the government is providing refugees with temporary shelter.