Local Editor
The Norwegian Refugee Council on Monday slammed the Saudi-led coalition’s decision to finally allow flights out of Sana'a airport for medical cases as a move that came ‘too late for thousands of Yemenis who died waiting to leave the country for urgent life-saving care.’
“They were handed a death sentence when the Saudi-led coalition blockaded northern Yemen by closing down the airport in Sana'a over three years ago. We hope that these medical flights will save the lives of other Yemenis,” NRC's Yemen Country Director Mohammed Abdi said in a statement.
Following two years of negotiations, seven patients will be carried out for treatment abroad. It is expected to be followed by other flights to transport the remaining patients for treatment.
The medical flights will transport 30 patients to Cairo and Amman with chronic diseases who cannot be treated inside Yemen
“The closure of Sana'a airport is one example of the way the use of blockade is causing intolerable suffering for civilians. This includes restrictions on humanitarian goods, commercial imports of food, fuel and medicines. 80 per cent of the population now needs humanitarian aid to survive. The economy keeps deteriorating and people don’t have salaries,” Abdi added. “Yemen needs urgent action to increase the flow of food, fuel and medicines from Hodeida port across the country, and salaries need to be paid otherwise Yemenis could face the risk of famine once again."
At least 32,000 Yemenis are estimated to have died waiting to get specialised medical treatment abroad according to the Ministry of Health in Sana’a.
A Saudi-led coalition has been bombing Yemen since 2015 in an attempt to forcefully reinstate the resigned regime of Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh.
Source: Yemenwatcn.net
