Nearly 3,000 people died in Yemen in November, making it the deadliest month in the past two years in Yemen, which has been devastated by the U.S.-backed Saudi war. The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project said the Saudi coalition intensified attacks ahead of the peace talks that recently began in Sweden. The talks mark the first time the Saudi-backed government and the rebel Houthis are holding direct negotiations. During the talks, the U.N. proposed joint control of the port of Hodeidah, a central issue in the ongoing conflict.

The meeting came as the U.N. and aid groups offered another stark warning of the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Yemen in a new report that says half the population is now “food insecure,” with 5 million people in an “emergency” hunger situation and 65,000 in a “catastrophe” hunger situation—the most severe phase.

Meanwhile in Yemen, protesters gathered in front of U.N. headquarters to protest the closure of the Sana’a airport and the blockade at the port of Hodeidah.

Ibrahim al-Mataa: “We came out today to speak and make the whole world hear the voice of those Yemenis who are suffering from this blockade, the blockade by enemy forces headed by the U.S., Israel and Saudi Arabia, a blockade that they should end unconditionally.”