Local Editor

The International Committee of the Red Cross [ICRC] cautioned on Wednesday that Yemen is facing a humanitarian catastrophe unless the Saudi-led coalition allows it to import and distribute vital food, fuel and medicines. 

The outgoing head of the ICRC’s delegation in Yemen, Cedric Schweizer, said that, "Humanitarian agencies can do things, but it will be the tip of the iceberg". 

"Most things are political decisions -- access to fuel, ensuring that the importation of normal medicines for chronic diseases can be allowed, and food because 90 percent of food is imported in Yemen."

He further said that commercial fuel tankers must have access to ports and the distribution system for fuel must function. Fuel is vital to run hospital generators and water pumping stations in the country of 26 million.

He added that only 5-10 percent of usual imports has entered Yemen over the past two months of the conflict, which has killed more than 2,000 people. Food prices have soared.

"If there is no fuel there will be no water very soon, and if this is the case we have thousands of people, if not millions, at risk because there is no access to water," Schweizer said.

"If a solution is not found today it will be a big humanitarian catastrophe", he further said.

"What we need is to mobilize these different countries who have an impact or who belong to the coalition to ensure that they take into consideration the needs of the civilian population," he said.

"We identify all of our movements to the coalition to make sure we are not targeted," Schweizer added.

The ICRC has 250 aid workers in Yemen. An ICRC surgical team is treating war wounded in the city of Aden in Yemen and the agency is providing food to 20,000 displaced families.

Schweizer was speaking after holding talks on the Yemen crisis with US officials and before heading for meetings in Iran and Russia.