Aid shipments are being planned for Yemen, after the International Committee of the Red Cross negotiated safe passage with Saudi Arabia, which has been bombing Houthi rebels. Help could arrive Monday.
When they arrive, medical teams and rescue workers will try to help those caught in the fighting that has intensified in the past two weeks. Three Yemen Red Crescent volunteers have died in the past week while trying help, the group says.
A pause in the fighting would also allow civilians to venture out for crucial supplies — and to hold funerals.
Cedric Schweizer, who leads the ICRC effort in Yemen, says his workers in Yemen "are endeavoring to take the wounded to hospital and retrieve the dead bodies from the streets of Aden in particular so that families can lay their loved ones to rest and give them proper burials."
Reuters reports that the ICRC "had yet to arrange a flight to deliver 48 tons of medical supplies despite gaining Saudi approval for the aid on Saturday night."
The organization says it's had a hard time chartering planes to deliver the supplies and medical staff.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
