UN chief says Yemen aid conference draws $1.1B in pledges

GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. secretary-general says international donors at a Geneva aid conference have pledged $1.1 billion to help beleaguered, war-torn Yemen this year.

Antonio Guterres hailed the pledges after wrapping up the daylong meeting Tuesday, saying it had raised half of the $2.1 billion in funds sought this year in a U.N. appeal for Yemen.

Coming into the conference, Guterres lamented that the appeal had only been about 15 percent funded.

Yemen’s war has killed over 10,000 civilians and pushed the Arab world’s poorest nation to the brink of famine. Aid groups want improved access to people in need, a halt to airstrikes by a Saudi-led coalition that is fighting Yemen’s Shiite rebels, and more respect for international law.

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