Red Cross urges immediate 24-hour ceasefire in Yemen
The International Committee of the Red Cross has called for an immediate 24-hour ceasefire in Yemen for the delivery of aid to the impoverished Arab country, which is under Saudi airstrikes.
The aid agency said in a statement on Saturday that it is “alarmed” at the “dire humanitarian situation” in Yemen and stressed that the people in the Arab country require food, water, and medical items and personnel.
“All air, land and sea routes must be opened without delay for at least 24 hours to enable help to reach people cut off after more than a week of intense [Saudi] airstrikes and … ground fighting,” the statement said, stressing that the chances of survival for the wounded “depend on action within hours, not days.”
The agency said hospitals are running low on life-saving medicines and equipment, adding that many parts of the country are also hit by water shortages as well as declining food stocks.
The request comes as Russia also called an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Saturday to put a halt to the war on Yemen for humanitarian purposes.
The Red Cross had said earlier that Saudi Arabia and its allies continue to block three shipments of aid and medical staff bound for Yemen.
Saudi Arabia’s air campaign in Yemen started on March 26 in a bid to restore to power to the country's fugitive president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.
Hadi stepped down in January and refused to reconsider the decision despite calls by Houthi revolutionaries.
However, the Ansarullah movement later said Hadi had lost his legitimacy as president of Yemen after he escaped the capital, Sana’a, to the southern port of Aden in February.
In late March, Hadi fled Aden, where he had sought to set up a rival power base, to Riyadh after Ansarullah revolutionaries advanced on the port city.
According to latest estimates by the United Nations, at least 519 people, including women and children, have lost their lives since the illegal Saudi aggression started.
AR/HMV/SS
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