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HAJJAH, Yemen, July 20 (Xinhua) -- As war raging on in northern Yemen, many beekeepers flee from a valley to another in searching for safe pastures.

Ali Abkar and his relatives, with their beehive-laden trucks, arrived in this arid valley near the Red Sea in the northwestern Hajjah province, after they traveled miles to escape battles on the other side of the province.

"We still face many risks and problems escaping the battles between the government forces and Houthis, as well as the problem of landmines," the 31-year-old Abkar told Xinhua.

According to the United Nations, thousands of landmines, unexploded ordnance, and other explosive remnants of war have been left behind during the ongoing conflict in Yemen.

"Last year, I lost more than 150 beehives after the area turned into a battleground," said Abkar while checking his wooden hives.

Abkar has been in this business for 10 years, which is his family's livelihood. Three months ago, he left his family in Bani Hassan area in Abs district in northern Hajjah searching for safe pastures for the bees away from battle zones.

"The situation before the war was good and there were no risks in moving from location to location, and the market is open to selling honey, whether in the local market or for export," said Abkar.

The Yemeni honey, known for its purity and therapeutic benefits, has been hailed among the best in the world.

"However, the purchasing power in the local market today has become very weak, and we are unable to export honey," he added.

Yemen exported at least 900 tons of honey every year before the war, but exports have since declined by more than 50 percent, according to the non-governmental League of Yemeni Beekeepers.

Yemen has been mired in civil war since late 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthi group seized much of the country's north and forced the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.

The Saudi-led military coalition intervened in the Yemen conflict in early 2015 to support Hadi's government.

The more than five years of war and blockade have shattered Yemen's agricultural industry and pushed more than 20 million people to the brink of starvation, according to the UN aid agencies.