ICRC: Yemen 'crumbling' under humanitarian crisis

Yemen is “crumbling” under a deepening humanitarian crisis after months of civil war, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Tuesday.

Peter Maurer, the head of the Geneva-based humanitarian organisation, also called for all parties to negotiate a peace deal at the end of a three-day visit to the country on Tuesday. “The humanitarian situation is nothing short of catastrophic,” he said.

“Medicines can’t get in so patient care is falling apart. Fuel shortages mean equipment doesn’t work. This cannot go on. Yemen is crumbling. As a matter of urgency, there must be free movement of goods into and across the country.”

Meanwhile on Tuesday, Yemeni military officials said “Popular Resistance Committees” had seized the town of Utmah, some 100 kilometres south of Sanna.

The International Committee of the Red Cross says that nearly 4,000 people have been killed and 1.3 million forced to flee their homes during the conflict.