Nation is ‘ one step’ from famine

The U. N. special envoy for Yemen warned that the conf lict- torn Middle East nation is “one step” from famine, with 31 million people in need of humanitarian assistance compared with 7 million two years ago.

Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed told reporters after briefing the U. N. Security Council behind closed doors that all parties to the conf lict are responsible for the dire suffering of the Yemeni people until there is “a true cease- fire.”

The conf lict has left 20 million Yemenis without access to safe drinking water and uprooted more than 1 million people from their homes, the envoy said.