Closure of Yemen’s Airport by Saudi Arabia Killing Thousands of Civilians: Aid Groups
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Saudi-led coalition's closure of the airport in Yemen's capital, Sana’a, has prevented thousands of sick civilians from traveling abroad for urgent medical treatment, two international aid groups said in a joint statement.
According to the Norwegian Refugee Council and CARE, the Sana’a airport's three-year closure has amounted to a "death sentence" for many sick Yemenis, AP reported.
The two groups appealed late Monday to Yemen's warring parties to come to an agreement to reopen the airport for commercial flights to "alleviate humanitarian suffering caused by the closure."
"As if bullets, bombs and cholera did not kill enough people, the airport closure is condemning thousands more to a premature death," said Mohammed Abdi, the Norwegian Refugee Council's director in Yemen.
"There is no justification for preventing very sick civilians from leaving the country to get life-saving medical treatment," he added.
The UN Human Rights Office said Tuesday that at least 14 civilians were killed in a July 26 attack by Saudi jets on a market in the northern province of Sada’a, which borders Saudi Arabia.
