Saudi ArabiaWest AsiaYemen

Red Cross concerned over civilian suffering in Yemen

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The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has expressed concerns about the plight of civilians in Yemen as the Al Saud regime continues its deadly aggression against the impoverished country.

“The suffering of the civilian population has reached unprecedented levels,” Antoine Grand, the head of the ICRC delegation in Yemen, said on Friday.

Grand also voiced worries about food, water and fuel shortage as well as Saudi air raids and ground clashes in the Arab country.

He further warned that renewed violence in Yemen’s southwestern provinces of Taiz and Aden is hindering the delivery of emergency medical aid to the affected areas.

“The last two weeks have seen an intensification of fighting in … Aden and Taiz where it is becoming increasingly difficult for us to reach affected areas, to evacuate the dead and the wounded and to provide life-saving assistance,” the ICRC official added.

Late on Friday, Saudi warplanes struck 200 residential units, housing the families of electrical engineers and technicians in the southwestern province of Taiz, leaving 120 people dead and over 150 others injured, al-Masirah satellite television network reported quoting local sources, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The fresh Saudi air raids come in the wake of fresh clashes between fighters from Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement and militants loyal to fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi in the Arab country’s southern parts.

Vendors try to salvage goods from under the rubble of their shops following a Saudi airstrike on the Yemeni capital city of Sana’a, July 20, 2015. (© AFP)

 

Saudi Arabia launched its military aggression against Yemen on March 26, without a UN mandate, in a bid to undermine Ansarullah and to restore power to Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh.

Rupert Colville, the spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said earlier this month that at least 1,693 civilians had been killed and 3,829 others injured in the Arab country since March 26. However, local sources say more than 4,500 people have lost their lives.

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