Iran is preparing to send a cargo plane carrying humanitarian aid, including medical equipment, to Yemen in the coming days.
Deputy Head of Iran Red Crescent Society (IRCS) Mohammad Shahabeddin Mohammadi Araqi told reporters that 104 tons of medicines and medical equipment will be sent to Yemen.
He said that the consignments sent before included relief, medical, treatment, and consumer items.
On Wednesday, IRCS Managing Director Seyed Amir Mohsen Ziyaee in a statement strongly condemned the attacks on residential areas, specially health centers and ambulances, in Yemen, and described the violation of international humanitarian laws in the Arab country as an instance of war crimes.
“In addition to the attacks on residential areas and civilians, these days attacks on medical supplies and ambulances have grown prevalent,” part of Ziyaee’s statement read.
The statement came after the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced that several civilians were killed in an airstrike of the Saudi-led warplanes on the Yemeni Red Crescent’s ambulance in the city of Taiz.
“The continuation of this trend can incur irreparable human losses in future,” Ziyaee warned.
The statement added that the IRCS condemns the numerous instances of the violation of humanitarian laws in Yemen, and asks the UN, the ISRC and other international organizations to take the needed action to fulfill their international undertakings in relation to the Geneva conventions and other treaties on humanitarian laws.
On Tuesday, ICRC Head Peter Maurer described the humanitarian situation in Yemen as “catastrophic” as the Saudi warplanes continue to bomb areas across the impoverished country.
Peter Maurer, who just ended a three-day visit to Yemen, said on Tuesday that he is appalled by the suffering he has witnessed in Yemen.
The ICRC chief said Yemen is “crumbling” under a deepening crisis which is nothing short of catastrophic.
“This cannot go on. Yemen is crumbling. As a matter of urgency, there must be free movement of goods into and across the country. Deliveries of food, water and medicine should be facilitated. Much more needs to be done. And minds need to be focused to find a political solution quickly,” said Maurer.
“The humanitarian situation is nothing short of catastrophic. Every family in Yemen has been affected by this conflict. The people are facing immense hardship. And it is getting worse by the day. The world needs to wake up to what is going on.”
The Red Cross head also stated that intense fighting and import restrictions imposed by the Saudi regime and its allies are having a dramatic impact on healthcare across Yemen.
“The compounded effects of intense fighting and import restrictions are having a dramatic impact on health care,” Maurer said.
“Health facilities have been massively attacked as well as suffering collateral damage. Medicines can’t get in so patient care is falling apart. Fuel shortages mean equipment doesn’t work. Insecurity means vaccination campaigns don’t happen. And of course, the fighting makes getting to hospital a dangerous venture. It’s a terrible downward spiral that puts thousands of lives at risk.”
