70,000 Yemenis flee war-wracked city

International aid groups say tens of thousands of people, including 28,000 children, are fleeing the northwestern Yemeni city of Sa'ada, which has been a target of brutal Saudi airstrikes

A group of 17 agencies, announced Sunday that the growing wave of air attacks by Saudi Arabia on the northern Yemeni province of Sa’ada are forcing 70,000 out of their homes.

Groups like Oxfam, Islamic Relief, and Save the Children, condemned the growing intensity of the bombings in the city, saying there is an urgent need for the implementation of a lasting ceasefire in order for the humanitarian agencies to deliver aid to the needy across Yemen.

“There is an urgent need to halt hostilities in order to move humanitarian aid to the country,” CARE International’s local director in Yemen, Daw Mohamed, said, adding “All parties concerned should also come forward to work out a long-term political solution to the problem.”

Save the Children, another aid group closely watching the developments in Yemen, said people were mostly unable to escape the deadly airstrikes due to the blockade imposed on the area in the wake of the attacks.

It also expressed concerns about the Saudi warplanes’ dropping of leaflets urging people to flee the residential areas.

“The indiscriminate attacks after the dropping of leaflets urging civilians to leave Sa’ada raises concerns about the possible pattern being established in breach of International Humanitarian Law,” Edward Santiago, a regional director of the group said, adding “Warning civilians does not exonerate the coalition from their obligation to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and we have seen in the last days that the warnings have not been enough to spare civilian lives.”

The call by international agencies came as the Saudi warplanes continued pounding various parts of Sa’ada for a second consecutive day. The devastating attacks, which have claimed the lives of scores of people, started after Yemeni tribal forces shelled some military bases south of Saudi Arabia in response.

Riyadh and Yemen’s Army have agreed to a five-day ceasefire with the ostensible aim of facilitating humanitarian aid to civilians in the impoverished Arab state.

“Following mediation from friendly countries to establish a humanitarian truce... we announce our agreement,” said Colonel Sharaf Luqman, a spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, on Sunday.

Saudi Arabia started its military aggression against Yemen on March 26 - without a UN mandate - in a bid to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement, which currently controls the capital Sana’a and other major provinces, and to restore power to Yemen’s fugitive former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, who is a staunch ally of Riyadh.

The Saudi military campaign has reportedly claimed the lives of over 1,200 people so far and injured thousands of others. Hundreds of women and children are among the victims, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The Al Saud regime has imposed a blockade on the delivery of relief supplies to the war-stricken people of Yemen in defiance of calls by international aid groups.

MS/NT

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk