UN appeals for $3B in aid to war-battered Yemen

Ayoub Mohammed Ruzaiq, 11, poses for a photograph at a garbage dump where he collects recyclables and food near the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, Yemen, January 13, 2018. REUTERS/Abduljabbar Zeyad

The United Nations Sunday made what it said was a record appeal for aid to Yemen, calling for nearly $3 billion in humanitarian relief for the war-torn country.

The $2.96 billion will be used to respond to an ever-broadening crisis in Yemen, where war, looming famine and cholera have killed thousands and put millions of lives at risk.

The appeal, made on behalf of UN agencies and humanitarian partners, came as 11.3 million people "urgently require assistance to survive", UN aid agency OCHA said in a statement.