ICRC fears humanitarian disaster as Yemen battle rages
Pro-government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition have been fighting Houthi rebels for more than three years.
Keystone
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Friday warned of impending humanitarian disaster in the Yemeni port city of Hodeida, where fierce fighting is under way between loyalists and rebels.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Julia is a widely travelled British radio and print journalist, specialized in African affairs and transitional justice.
“Seventy percent of food for Yemen comes through Hodeida, and three-quarters of the country’s 29 million people need humanitarian assistance,” ICRC Near and Middle East spokesperson Iolanda Jacquemet told swissinfo.ch. “So if it is cut off it will be disastrous.”
She said the ICRC is also concerned about Hodeida as a city of 600,000 people, since urban warfare tends to produce a much higher number of victims.
Other aid agencies also expressed fears on Friday that the military operation by pro-government forces to recapture Hodeida from rebels could interrupt aid supplies, exacerbating a humanitarian situation which is “already the worst in the world”, according to the UN.
The UN special envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, arrived in the capital, Sanaa, on Saturday. The United Nations, which failed to find a diplomatic solution to head off the assault, fears the fighting will cut off the only lifeline for millions of Yemenis facing starvation.
Asked where these threats were coming from, she said “we don’t know but we have dialogue with everyone, trying to get credible guarantees. The aim is to go back, especially given the needs, but we have a duty of care to staff.”
She stressed, however, that the ICRC still has local staff in Yemen and has pre-positioned food, medical supplies, water purification systems and sanitation supplies in Hodeida, which can be distributed in cooperation with the Yemeni Red Crescent if the security situation allows.
The war in Yemen, which has been raging for more than three years, has left nearly 10,000 people dead. The battle for Hodeida is seen as the most important since 2015, when an offensive by pro-government forces allowed them to take back several southern regions, including Aden, from the rebels.
Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?
Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?
Swiss price watchdog negotiates lower fees for card payments
This content was published on
Small businesses in Switzerland will have to pay fewer fees for cashless payments from customers over the next few years.
Lakes in Central Switzerland have best water quality for bathing
This content was published on
Anyone who swims in a lake in Central Switzerland need have no fear of infection from intestinal bacteria. The water samples taken at 65 bathing sites in 13 lakes all have good to excellent bathing water quality.
This content was published on
Unknown assailants have stolen a historic ring from a Basel museum. The stolen item was a gift from Russian Tsar Alexander I to his host in Basel in 1814.
More May hotel guests in Basel than at any time in past 90 years
This content was published on
Basel hotels recorded 150,854 overnight stays for the Eurovision Song Contest in May. This corresponds to a year-on-year increase of 8.4%.
Demand remains high for rental flats in Switzerland
This content was published on
More rental flats are once again being advertised on property portals in Switzerland. However, demand also remains very high.
One in five Europeans exposed to too much traffic noise
This content was published on
More than one in five Europeans are exposed to unhealthily high levels of traffic noise, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA).
New living space through densification often comes at expense of the poor
This content was published on
If demolition and new construction are carried out and tenants have to make way, low-income households are affected more often than average.
This content was published on
The ceasefire in the Iran-Israel war has visibly eased tensions on the financial markets. The SMI, Switzerland's leading stock market index, has risen above the 12,000 point mark again.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Switzerland pledges more emergency aid to Yemen
This content was published on
Switzerland has promised an extra CHF4 million ($4.2 million) towards humanitarian aid for Yemen at a United Nations donor conference in Geneva.
This content was published on
Hunger is currently the biggest humanitarian problem in the world, the Swiss Foreign Minister told the annual conference of Swiss humanitarian aid.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.