Yemen: ICRC deplores civilian cost of Hodeida attacks

Sana’a (ICRC): The International Committee of the Red Cross condemns Thursday’s hits in the coastal city of Hodeida which resulted in the killing and wounding of scores of civilians.

“The scenes coming from Hodeida are horrific. The disregard of international humanitarian law in Yemen cannot be tolerated. While the exact circumstances around the ground explosions are still unknown, this lack of respect for civilian life and civilian property is reprehensible,” said Johannes Bruwer, the head of the ICRC delegation in Yemen.

Fifty-five civilians were killed and 170 injured when a series of explosions rocked densely populated districts of the coastal city, including a fish market and the area around Al-Thawra Hospital, an ICRC-supported facility that is one of the biggest and busiest in Hodeida. Two ambulances were also destroyed.

“Under International humanitarian law (IHL), the civilian population, medical personnel, ambulances and medical facilities must be respected and protected in all circumstances, and the work of medical personnel must be facilitated,” Bruwer said. The ICRC provided surgical material to assist severely wounded people as well as body bags to Al-Thawra Hospital after the neighborhood was targeted. This assistance follows regular support from the ICRC to hospitals in Hodeida in order to increase capacity to deal with wounded over the last 18 months.

https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-icrc-deplores-civilian-cost-hodeida-attacks