Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud announced 274 million US dollars in humanitarian aid to Yemen in response to a UN appeal, the state-owned Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Saturday.

Yemen has been in the grip of an escalating conflict following a coup by the Shi’ite Houthi group against legitimate president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi. Forced to flee to Riyadh, the Saudi-led Operation Decisive Storm has been seeking to target Houthi fighters across the country and restore security and stability in its southern neighbor. While the military operation has been successful on the ground, forcing the Houthis to retreat across the country, there has been a humanitarian toll.

The UN launched an appeal on Friday for almost 275 million US dollars to aid Yemen’s 7.5 million people over the next three months. According to the Yemen, at least 150,000 people have been displaced by the fighting, with 12 million short of food.

The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) called for urgent humanitarian assistance to be offered to Yemen.

“Ordinary families are struggling to access healthcare, water, food and fuel-basic requirements for their survival,” said Johannes Van Der Klaauw, UN humanitarian coordinator for Yemen.

“To scale up assistance, we urgently need additional resources. I urge donors to act now to support the people of Yemen at this time of greatest need,” he said in comments on Friday.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz announced that Riyadh would provide the required aid just one day later.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia stresses its stands fully by the brotherly people of Yemen, and prays to Allah Almighty to restore security and stability to sisterly Yemen,” the SPA report concluded