The ongoing conflict in Yemen has claimed nearly 4,000 lives, almost 1,900 of them civilians, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

The UN Human Rights Office said 1,859 civilian were among the 3,984 people who have been killed in fighting between Shiite rebels known as Houthis against troops loyal to exiled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, southern separatists, local and tribal militas, and Sunni Islamic militants.

Adding to the carnage, a Saudi-led coalition of Sunni countries in March launched an aerial campaign against the Houthis, who control the capital, Sanaa.

Some 19,300 people have also been injured in the fighting, including nearly 4,200 civilians, according to the UN rights agency and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Growing food crisis

Also on Tuesday, the international aid confederation Oxfam presented new figures showing that an unprecedented 13 million people in Yemen - over half of the population - were facing food shortages, with nearly half of those on the brink of starvation.

Even before the conflict, Yemen suffered from the second highest rate of malnutrition in the world.

"As the warring parties continue to ignore calls for a ceasefire, the average family in Yemen is left wondering when its next meal will be - if they survive the bombs, they're now running out of food," said the Oxfam Country Director in Yemen, Philippe Clerc.

A "humanitarian" ceasefire planned for this week to allow access to aid workers was violated by both sides, in a situation where just 20 percent of domestic food needs have entered the country since March.

The worst affected area is the largely rebel-held province of Saada, where eight out of ten people in the population of 800,000 are suffering from a lack of food, with half of those near starvation.

Oxfam said the food shortage had led to price increases of up to 274 percent, making food unaffordable for large sections of the population, particularly in view of the fact that many Yemenis have had no income for months.

tj/kms (dpa, AP, AFP)