LONDON: More than 300,000 people have fled their homes due to fighting in western Yemen, almost all of them in the past two months, the International Organization for Migration said on Sunday.

Families were facing soaring prices and a shortage of shelter, while restrictions on access were hampering the delivery of aid, it said.

“After years of conflict, families in Yemen are being forced to flee yet again, often with little more than the clothes on their backs,” Abdusattor Esoev, the agency’s chief of mission in Yemen, said.

“They urgently need shelter, food, clean water and healthcare.”

The agency said that it needed $45 million over the next six months to provide emergency assistance, as displacement grows and families struggle to afford food and other necessities.

“Without more funding, thousands of families could be left without the help they urgently need,” Esoev said.

According to IOM figures, more than 43,000 people have fled Al-Madaribah Wa Al-Aarah in Lahj province since the start of October, the highest number for any district in the country.

The situation is also deteriorating in Taiz province, with many families heading south to Aden, which now hosts more than 56,000 displaced people.

In the city of Taiz, clashes had cut off access to neighboring areas and driven up to fivefold increases in the price of many essentials, leaving families unable to afford basic food supplies, the agency said.

The IOM has deployed five mobile medical teams across Taiz, Marib, Lahj and Aden but said that demand continued to outpace its response.

The agency urged all parties to protect civilians and humanitarian workers and allow safe, unimpeded aid access, particularly in hard-to-reach areas of Taiz.