This blog was written by Phoebe Greenwood of Save The Children, who has just returned from the Al Mazraq Camp in Yemen

Thousands of civilians have been forced from their homes in Sa'ada by fierce fighting between Yemeni government forces and Shiite rebels, the Al Houthis.

The war between insurgents seeking autonomy and the government has been fought in bouts since 2004.

But never before has fighting erupted on such a bloody scale and with such a devastating affect on the Yemeni people. In a country where one in every two children is malnourished, the ongoing conflict threatens to trigger a humanitarian catastrophe.

More than 6,000 of the displaced have arrived so far at Al Mazraq camp in Haradh district, 4,000 of which are children. There are an estimated 20,000 further displaced currently living in the area surrounding the camp.

UNICEF estimates that sixty per cent of the children arriving from the conflict area are malnourished. Many complain of violent nightmares and appear traumatised.

While aid agencies are working swiftly alongside the local authority to meet the basic needs of the displaced, the rapid rate at which the camp population is growing means many are still without tents and food.

According to local authorities, 1,300 families, an average of 7 people each, are living in the camp; 848 have been given tents.

Halega and her husband Shoueeb were among the first to arrive. She cradles a limp baby as she tried to comfort her three year-old daughter Amira whose badly infected eye is attracting flies.

"We came with thirty other families, mostly relatives, to escape the fighting in August. We came with nothing, just the clothes on our backs.

"After ten days here we got this tent. Before that, we just slept on the ground in the open air but it still felt safer than where we had come from. We recently got some blankets and a mattress. The camp management has given us some flour, wheat, beans and water."

There are only 40 latrines for the 6,000 and hygiene within the camp is poor.

Helega explains that many women do not feel safe using the toilets because the doors do not shut properly. Some walk a considerable distance from the camp for privacy but she uses a bucket outside her tent.

With temperatures in Al Mazraq hitting 40 degrees Celsius by mid-morning, the sweltering humidity is posing huge difficulties for the thousands who have fled homes in the cool mountains and are unused to the heat.

Many children are dehydrated and suffering painful heat rashes. Diarrhoea is common throughout the camp.

Fatima (not her real name) has been in Al Mazraq for two days with her husband and seven children.

The family managed to escape with their sheep across the mountains, although fifty died on the three-day trek: "We are living here with our friends from the village, there are18 of us altogether in this tent.

"We came from Al Kafeera. Many of the old people ran away from our villages. Some of our houses have been destroyed by the planes above our head and the Houthis on the ground. Some people have died there.

"I am not going back until I know it is safe. I lost my land, my animals. We were going to harvest the wheat when we left. Now we have nothing."

Save the Children has been working within the camp since August 25, creating safe places for the children to play. They play football, draw and are encouraged to talk about their traumatic experiences.

A new report launched by Save the Children this week warns of the critical but neglected crisis of global child mortality. It stresses that in conflicts such as this, children are always the most vulnerable.

Save the Children's Country Director in Yemen Andrew Moore said: "Yemen's children are already vulnerable, thousands die every year from easily preventable diseases such as pneumonia and diarrhoea.

"In a hostile environment such as Al Mazraq camp, these children will be even more likely to succumb to malnutrition and disease."

"These displaced children, both in camps and sheltering within communities across Yemen, must be made an urgent priority if we are to avoid a humanitarian crisis that could have serious physical and psychological health consequences for the next generation of Yemenis."

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