UN welcomes first commercial flight from Yemen's Sanaa airport to Egypt

The United Nations has welcomed the first commercial flight from Yemen's Sanaa airport to Cairo, a UN spokesman said.

The first commercial flight took off on Wednesday.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told the regular press briefing on Wednesday that "this was the seventh flight operating under the terms of the UN brokered two-month nationwide truce and represents an important element of the truce."

A total of 2,495 Yemenis have travelled so far between Sanaa, Amman and Cairo, Xinhua news agency reported.

Dujarric said the UN thanks the Egyptian government for the invaluable support in bringing about this important achievement, and the Yemen government for their constructive role in making this possible.

"Despite the good news today on the Cairo flights -- and the improved humanitarian situation the truce has delivered over the last two months, we must be clear that humanitarian needs in Yemen remain high," the spokesman added.

Nearly 19 million people will go hungry this year, including more than 160,000 who will face famine-like conditions. More than four million people have been displaced since the war started. Severe needs persist across all sectors, according to the spokesman.

Aid agencies need $4.28 billion to assist 17.3 million people across the country this year. So far, only 26 per cent has been funded.

"This means that core programmes like food assistance, healthcare and other activities are scaling back when they should be expanding," Dujarric said.

--IANS

int/khz/