MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th August, 2018) The Norwegian Refugee Council on Friday called on all countries involved in the armed conflict in Yemen to protect civilians from ongoing deadly attacks and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid.
According to the United Nations' data, over 6,500 civilians have been killed in an over three-year-long civil war so far. Among the most recent victims were at least 31 people, predominantly children, who were killed by a Saudi-led coalition airstrike that hit a convoy carrying displaced families in the west of the country on Thursday. Earlier in August, another deadly airstrike claimed the lives of 50 people, mostly minors, and injured another 77 after a strike hit a school bus full of children.
"The UK, US, France, Iran and all others contributing to the conflict in Yemen must use their influence to bring about an immediate and permanent end to the violence. We call on the countries funding and fuelling the war to ensure that civilians and civilian infrastructure are protected from attack, and that humanitarian aid is allowed to reach those who need it," the Norwegian Refugee Councils acting country director in Yemen, Suze van Meegen, was quoted as saying by the organization's official website.
The organization's statement also said that 350,000 people were forced to leave their homes along the country's west coast since June, while another three million Yemeni had been displaced since the beginning of the conflict.
Yemen is currently living in a state of civil war between the government and the Houthi rebels. Since the beginning of the conflict in 2015, government forces have been backed by the Saudi-led coalition, which has been targeting the rebels with airstrikes and wearing out the country with a massive sea blockade. According to media reports, such countries as France, the United Kingdom and the United States have been providing the coalition with intelligence support.
