The humanitarian situation in north Yemen remains grave as the two-month war launched by the Yemeni government against the northern rebels sees no sign of an end so far.

On Sunday, Yemeni President Abdullah Saleh said in an interview with pro-Arab mbc TV that he insists to make "the war (in the north) the last one."

Since the fighting started to escalate in north Yemen two months ago, humanitarian agencies have been waiting for access to around 150,000 displaced people, most of whom are children and women, and to thousands who remain stranded in the areas of fighting.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned on Oct. 13 that thousands of children have very limited access to potable water, food and hygiene and that malnutrition levels are on the rise, posing a big threat to their well-being.

The Yemeni authorities said on the same day that safe corridors had been set up to allow refugees access to camps offering a safe haven from fighting.

However, the UN refugee agency UNHCR in Geneva asked Sanaa not to move any more people to one of the camps because of shooting incidents nearby. The Yemeni government was asked instead to allow the UN to distribute aid to displaced people outside the camp.

On Oct. 11, the United Nations urged Yemeni government and Shiite rebels to suspend fighting to help delivering aid to refugees.

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes said he had asked both sides for a ceasefire "on humanitarian grounds" and asked the government to help the agency to reach those who are in need for assistance "rapidly and without hindrance."

An aid shipment, which the UN refugee agency said early in October it would send to northern Yemen through Saudi borders, unfortunately delayed for several days due to security clearance.

Last week, some countries including Germany and Kuwait responded to calls of humanitarian organizations. Germany donated 1.5 million euros to aid agencies running relief operations to the people who fled fighting between the army and Shiite rebels in north.

The Kuwaiti cabinet also decided on Oct. 13 to donate humanitarian aid to the people affected by the conflict in Saada province.

On Oct. 14, Houthi rebels said they are ready to open humanitarian corridors for the displaced people on the condition of putting such corridors directly under the control of the United Nations with a guarantee that the authorities do not use them to send in reinforcements for Yemeni troops.

The government has since announced that it was also ready to allow humanitarian corridors, while at the same time accused the rebels of opening fire on fleeing civilians and mining the escape routes.

On Oct. 10, leader of the Zaidi Shiite rebels Abdel Malek al- Houthi said he is ready for a "dialogue" proposed by opposition leaders who urged Sanaa in September to halt the Scorched Earth operation.

Although the Shiite leader did not specify the government for the proposed dialogue, his spokesman Mohammed Abdel Salam said that the group is ready to hold dialogue with "all political parties" in Yemen including the government "and that they would accept a "neutral" Yemeni or Arab mediation aimed at a ceasefire.

However, the recent indicators show that the war which witnessed failure of truces might continue for a long time. Statements made by the Yemeni President, whether earlier at the onset of war or recently, show a strong will to put an end for the rebellion.

Late in September, Saleh vowed to uproot the Houthi insurgency affirming that the war will never come to an end until achieving that goal even if it continued for years.

"We will not backtrack even if the battle continues for five or six years, we will not backtrack or stop," Saleh said during a ceremony to commemorate the 42nd anniversary the Yemeni revolution which toppled royal rule.