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International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
9-02-2010 Operational update
Yemen: urgent food aid in Sa'ada and Amran
Almost six months after the latest round of fighting erupted in the
north of Yemen, tens of thousands of people, displaced and residents
alike, remain dependent on humanitarian assistance provided by the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Yemen Red
Crescent Society.
As a result of the ongoing fighting, people continue to flee conflict
areas. In Al-Buqa, north of Sa'ada city, more than 5,500 displaced
people are said to be gathering in two different places (the ICRC has
not been able to confirm the exact number of people). The Yemen Red
Crescent and the ICRC have set up 450 tents at one of the sites and
built 140 latrines altogether in both locations.
Over the past week, the ICRC and the Yemen Red Crescent's Sa'ada and
Amran branches have provided food and other essential items, such as
hygiene items and blankets, to more than 20,700 displaced people
(IDPs) and residents in Sa'ada and Amran governorates.
In Wadi Khaiwan (Khaiwan Medina and Khaiwan Al-Hamra), the ICRC and
Yemen Red Crescent volunteers managed to distribute urgently needed
food to more than 12,300 displaced people and residents, who were
given three-month rations consisting of wheat, rice, beans, cooking
oil, sugar and salt. Nearly two thirds of those receiving food aid
were also given hygiene items and blankets.
This long-awaited distribution followed a first round carried out in
September last year. "As tens of thousands of people have fled from
area to area within Amran governorate, much pressure has inevitably
been put on residents' already limited resources," said Boris Maver,
the ICRC's head of operations in Amran. "That is why the ICRC provides
assistance not only for the displaced but also for the communities
hosting them."
"It took months to organize this distribution in Wadi Khaiwan, and we
feel relieved that some of the crucial needs of the people who are
most vulnerable are covered for at least three months," said the
ICRC's head of delegation in Yemen, Jean-Nicolas Marti.
Amid heavy fighting in the old town of Sa'ada, the ICRC and Yemen Red
Crescent volunteers succeeded in carrying out a distribution of
urgently needed food â the third such distribution since December 2009
in that part of the city, which is particularly difficult to reach.
The food rations will cover the needs of nearly 8,500 residents for at
least one month.
Since fighting resumed in mid-August last year, the ICRC has provided
aid for at least 150,000 people in cooperation with the Yemen Red
Crescent. Both organizations are striving to respond to needs which
are growing more urgent by the day. The ICRC and the YRCS are
maintaining their aid effort despite difficult security conditions,
which make their work dangerous.
For further information, please contact:
Rabab Al-Rifaï, ICRC Sana'a, tel: +967 1 213 844 or +967 711 94 43 43
Dorothea Krimitsas, ICRC Geneva, tel: +41 22 730 25 90 or +41 79 251
93 18
©ICRC / D. Gagnon
Khaiwan Medina, north of Amran governorate, Yemen. IDPs and residents
receive food rations from the ICRC and the Yemeni Red Crescent.
©ICRC / D. Gagnon
North of Amran governorate, Yemen. Children with food distributed to
their families by the ICRC and the Yemeni Reed Crescent in Khaiwan
Medina.
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