Yemen’s Red Cross: Hospitals Crippled by Saudi Attacks

Saudi airstrikes have crippled Yemen’s health system and there are severe shortages of essential items especially food, drugs and fuel, the Yemeni Red Cross announced on Sunday.
“Yemen’s hospital and medical centers are struggling to stay open and treat thousands of people injured in the Saudi airstrikes,” an official with Yemen’s Red Cross said.

He added that the patients are suffering because of an acute shortage of doctors, nurses, drugs and food.

Medical sources announced earlier that hospitals in Yemen are facing shutdowns because of a critical shortage of power, fuel and oxygen supplies as Saudi fighter jets continue pounding the Muslim Arab nation.

“Hospitals in Yemen are facing a critical lack of fuel and oxygen supplies,” Hosni al-Jowshaee, a physician in Sana’a, said.

He further said that hospitals and medical staff are struggling to cope with the very high number of the Yemenis injured in the Saudi attacks, adding that several dozens of the patients have so far died due to the lack of medical teams, staff, beds, ambulance, oxygen containers, and other vital equipment at hospitals overwhelmed by patients.

Al-Jowshaee also said that Riyadh has exacerbated the existing humanitarian crisis in Yemen by blocking aid flights to the crisis-stricken country.

Saudi Arabia has been striking Yemen for 39 days now to restore power to fugitive president Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh. The Saudi-led aggression has so far killed at least 3,163 Yemenis, including hundreds of women and children.

Hadi stepped down in January and refused to reconsider the decision despite calls by Ansarullah revolutionaries of the Houthi movement.

Despite Riyadh’s claims that it is bombing the positions of the Ansarullah fighters, Saudi warplanes are flattening residential areas and civilian infrastructures.

On April 21, the monarchy declared end to Yemen airstrikes after five weeks of bombings, but airstrikes are still underway.