United Nations, Oct 14 (IANS): The UN has voiced serious concerns over the impact of continued fighting in Yemen on civilians.

Fierce fighting continues in Yemen, including in Marib, Shabwah and Al Bayda governorates, where clashes have escalated over recent weeks, which is having an increasingly devastating impact on civilians, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Nearly 10,000 people were displaced in Marib in September, the highest rate recorded in the governorate in a single month so far this year, it said.

The UN is particularly concerned about the situation in Al Abdiyah District in the southwest of Marib.

The district, home to an estimated 35,000 people, including many who had found refuge there after fleeing the conflict in neighbouring areas, has been encircled by Houthi forces since late September, it said.

The UN urges all parties to the conflict to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law, including ensuring the protection of civilians and providing safe passage for those fleeing conflict areas.

The world body also called on the parties to facilitate safe, timely and sustained humanitarian access to all affected areas of Yemen, including in Marib, Shabwah and Al Bayda, said OCHA.

The humanitarian crisis in Yemen remains the worst in the world.

Nearly four years of conflict and severe economic decline are driving the country to the brink of famine and exacerbating needs in all sectors.

An estimated 80 per cent of the population, 24 million people, require some form of humanitarian or protection assistance, including 14.3 million who are in acute need, said the OCHA.

Severity of needs is deepening, with the number of people in acute need a staggering 27 per cent higher than last year.

Two-thirds of all districts in the country are already pre-famine, and one-third face a convergence of multiple acute vulnerabilities.