MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Non-governmental organizations Islamic Relief USA and Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect told Sputnik that they shared the UN concern over the dire situation in Yemen, torn apart by an armed conflict, and hoped that the international community helps lift the Saudi-led coalition's blockade on the country's ports and allow humanitarian aid to reach the people at risk of famine.
"We most certainly agree with Mr. Lowcock's assessment of the situation in Yemen, in that the conditions are extremely dire… We call on all sides to enable humanitarian aid groups like Islamic Relief to distribute the aid and services necessary to save lives, prevent starvation, as well as to provide the proper medicines and vaccinations," Minhaj Hassan, a public affairs specialist with Islamic Relief USA, which provides food medicine, hygiene kits and water storage containers to people in Yemen, said.
Dr. Simon Adams, executive director of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, called the situation in Yemen "a man-made humanitarian catastrophe" and urged the UN Security Council to pass a resolution on the conflict, which would "compel the Saudi-led international coalition to allow emergency humanitarian relief efforts to resume."
"The international community — especially the 'Great Powers' — need to do more to assist those who are suffering, help negotiate an end to the conflict, and hold perpetrators of atrocities accountable," Adams said.
According to the head of the NGO, seven million people in Yemen are already at risk of starving and the tightened blockade would enhance the danger.
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A local source told Sputnik on Wednesday that a blockade was lifted off a major port of Aden, opening it up for humanitarian aid deliveries.
However, the same day UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock said that the access to humanitarian aid hasn't yet been open, emphasizing that millions could die in Yemen from hunger.
The Saudi-led coalition that has been conducting an operation in Yemen since 2015 announced on November 6 that it had closed off access to all of the country's land, air and sea ports after the Houthis launched a missile targeting Riyadh, explaining the move as a measure to prevent the rebels from obtaining additional weapons.
The Houthi movement backed by army units loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh has responded with a threat to target Saudi and UAE "airports, ports, border crossings and areas of any importance."
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