Red Cross raises alarm over humanitarian situation in Yemen

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has raised the alarm over the humanitarian situation across Yemen as the Al Saud regime continues its deadly airstrikes against the neighboring country.

“The humanitarian situation in Yemen is very difficult… (with) naval, air, and ground routes cut off,” said the spokeswoman for the ICRC in Yemen, Marie Claire Feghali, on Tuesday.

Feghali also raised concerns over the “catastrophic” state of affairs in Aden as clashes between members of popular committees, including the Houthis, and forces loyal to fugitive former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, continue in the southern port city.

“The war in Aden is on every street, in every corner…. Many are unable to escape,” she said, stressing that “the priority for the Red Cross right now is for hospitals to continue to operate and to save the lives of as many people as possible.”

The ICRC official’s comments come as fresh Saudi airstrikes on Yemen’s southwestern province of Ibb claimed the lives of at least six school students. According to reports, warplanes pounded the province under the pretext of bombing the Yemeni army’s Al Hamza Brigade.

This is while the Saudi attacks against Yemen’s civilians and infrastructure have fueled anti-Saudi sentiments in the country and elsewhere in the Middle East and the world.

Saudi Arabia’s military aggression against Yemen started on March 26, without a UN mandate, in a bid to restore power to Hadi. The airstrikes have killed hundreds of people and injured thousands more.

Saudi border guards stand on their vehicle near the Yemeni border on April 6, 2015. © AFP
More than 540 people have been killed in Yemen since the military conflict began in the Arab country in mid-March, according to the World Health Organization.

Ansarullah fighters have taken over state matters, citing the inability of Hadi’s former government to properly run the affairs of the country and contain terror and corruption.

In February, Hadi fled the capital, Sana’a, to Aden, where he sought to set up a rival base. Hadi had stepped down in January and refused to reconsider the decision despite calls by Houthi revolutionaries. The parliament, however, rejected his resignation, which he later withdrew in Aden.

Ansarullah revolutionaries say Hadi, who is now in Riyadh, lost his legitimacy as president of Yemen after he fled the capital to Aden in February.

Popular committees backed by Ansarullah fighters are continuing their advances despite the Saudi attacks while stepping up their fight against al-Qaeda terrorists and securing many areas from the militants.