Russian EMERCOM to Send Two Planes With Humanitarian Aid to Yemen

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Russian Emergencies Ministry will send two planes with humanitarian aid to Yemen, the ministry’s press service said on Tuesday.

"By order of the Russian government, two Il-76 planes with humanitarian aid for population of the Republic of Yemen that suffered as a result of armed conflict, will leave the Moscow region to Yemen," the press service said.

The aircraft will deliver over 46 tons of humanitarian aid, including canned meat and fish, baby food and sugar, according to the ministry.

On July 10, Spokesman for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Stephane Dujarric said there were over 21 million Yemenis, or more than four-fifths of the country's population, in need of humanitarian aid.

Yemen has been engulfed in conflicts between Houthis, the country’s main opposition group, and government forces since early 2015.

Since late March, a Saudi-led international coalition has been conducting airstrikes against Houthi positions in Yemen at the request of Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi.

According to the United Nations, some 3,000 Yemenis have been killed since the conflict escalated in March.