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Inside one refugee camp in war-torn Yemen

Inside Yemen's destitute refugee camp
Inside Yemen's destitute refugee camp 01:49

YEMEN -- An average of 123 civilians die every week in Yemen, the United Nations said Friday, as representatives from both sides of the country's devastating three-year civil war met for a second day in Sweden to try to halt the violence.

The talks are a glimmer of hope for peace in the country, which the U.N. says is in the midst of the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

During Thursday's talks, both sides agreed to broad prisoner swaps.

Hope for peace in Yemen as humanitarian crisis worsens 01:33

The fighting between a Saudi-led coalition and Iranian-backed rebels has killed more than 10,000 people and pushed millions to the brink of famine. The United States supplies weapons and intelligence to Saudi forces.

CBS News visited the Mishqafah camp in southern Yemen that houses roughly 2,500 people, all of whom fled fighting elsewhere in the country.

The people living there were always poor, but now they are destitute, residing in rudimentary shelters made of tarpaulin and bits of wood. They have no access to proper medical care.  

The Ali family can't get help for their 6-year-old daughter, who has a serious neurological problem. Just a few weeks ago, a child in the camp died of cholera. 

yemen-crying-ali-2.jpg
Lack of access to medical care in Yemen means the Ali family cannot get help for their daughter, who has a severe neurological problem, shown in this photo taken December 7, 2018. CBS News

The sanitation at the camp is dangerously bad; there are only a few basic latrines. Most people use the fields, and the situation is worst for women, who, for modesty's sake, can only go out at night, alone in the dark.

The people living at the Mishqafah camp do, however, have access to just enough food to survive. This is more than can be said for 14 million other Yemenis – the number of people that the United Nations says is at risk of serious hunger or starvation this winter. 

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