Study: 10,000 more died in Yemen over last 5 months

April 19 (UPI) -- More than 10,000 people have been killed in fighting in Yemen over the past five months -- raising the death toll 70,000, a new analysis says.

The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project said in its report Thursday fighting between Iranian-supported Houthi rebels and the Saudi Arabia-backed Yemeni government has led to a humanitarian crisis and 14 million people on the edge of starvation. The price of food in Yemen since 2015 has increased 68 percent, and the costs of gasoline and cooking gas is up 25 percent.

The project -- which tracks political violence and protests in Africa, South Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Latin America -- said more than 7,600 of the new deaths occurred this year.

Despite the rise in deaths, the report said the rate has actually dropped since a U.N.-supported cease-fire took effect this year. Meanwhile, however, intense fighting continues in areas including Taiz and Hajjah. There has also been a significant decline in the key port city of Hudaydah and the capital Sanaa.

Special Yemen envoy Martin Griffiths told the U.N. Security Council Monday both sides of the conflict have agreed to a phase one deployment plan around Hudaydah, a critical location for distribution of aid.

"My primary responsibility in the next few weeks will be to winnow down differences between the parties so that when they meet they can, in all efficiency, be asked to answer precise questions about the nature of the arrangements to end the war," Griffiths said.

This year, Congress passed a resolution to end U.S. involvement in Yemen, but the measure was vetoed Tuesday by President Donald Trump. The U.S. military has supported Saudi forces by refueling aircraft and assisting with aerial targeting efforts.