United Nations humanitarian agencies are extremely concerned over the desperate situation of civilians caught in the fighting between government forces and rebels in northern Yemen, UN officials said Friday.

The agencies said the escalation of hostilities has not only made it difficult for aid to be delivered, but is also preventing civilians from escaping to safe area, the officials said.

According to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, the situation in Sa'ada city in northern Yemen remains dramatic and the town has been cut off from the rest of the world for a week now.

Both parties in the conflict are reported to have rejected a cease-fire and vowed to continue the hostilities. UNHCR is calling for the opening humanitarian corridors in northern Yemen that would allow civilians to leave the conflict zone and humanitarian workers to deliver much needed humanitarian aid to thousands of displaced people.

In neighboring Amran province, 60 percent of displaced are women and children. Some reported they lost documents as they fled, others are traumatized. About 40 percent of the displaced population is occupying schools, clinics, hangars and barns.

The World Food Program (WFP) said it had managed to deliver food aid in last one month to an estimated 2,500 internally displaced persons during a lull in the fighting on Wednesday. However, WFP says the situation remains critical as many other internally displaced persons are hungry and dehydrated.

(Xinhua News Agency August 29, 2009)