Yemeni civilians in the embattled Marib region are deprived of vital aid as violence between the Saudi-backed state and the Houthi rebels continues to rage, The Norwegian Refugee Council's Country Director in Yemen, Erin Hutchinson, said on Tuesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd November, 2021) Yemeni civilians in the embattled Marib region are deprived of vital aid as violence between the Saudi-backed state and the Houthi rebels continues to rage, The Norwegian Refugee Council's Country Director in Yemen, Erin Hutchinson, said on Tuesday.
On Monday, Yemen's Information, Culture and Tourism Minister Moammar Al-Eryani said that nearly 30 civilians were killed and injured in an airstrike carried out by the Houthi rebels in the Yemeni province of Marib on November 1.
"Some of Yemen's most vulnerable civilians in Marib are now cut off from life-saving assistance while also being under attack. The numbers of civilian casualties in Marib, including children, is at a record high," Hutchinson said.
The Council is struggling to provide vital aid to around 1 million civilians moved in Marib from other parts of the country to find safety, many of them lacking essentials and health facilities, Hutchinson added.
"We call on all parties to spare civilians and ensure that we can keep reaching them with life-saving aid. We also call on the international community to provide the promised funding to keep Yemenis alive in this hour of need," Hutchinson urged.
Since February 2020, the Houthi rebels have been conducting a large-scale military operation to seize the oil-rich Marib province, which is an important political, military and economic center that hosts the defense ministry's headquarters.
Yemen's conflict between government forces and the Houthi movement has been ongoing since August 2014. The situation in the country was further complicated after Saudi Arabia joined the conflict on the side of the Yemeni government in 2015 and began conducting air, land and sea operations against the Islamist rebel movement.
