United Nations flights carrying critically ill people in need of medical care will begin to fly from Yemen‘s rebel-held capital, Sanaa, on Monday, according to aid and diplomatic sources.
There was no immediate information where the flights were expected to land.
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Yemen has been mired in almost five years of conflict since Houthi rebels overthrew the internationally-recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi from Sanaa in late 2014. A Saudi-UAE-led military coalition intervened in 2015 to try to restore Hadi.
In November, the coalition – which controls Yemen’s airspace – said patients needing medical care would be allowed to be flown out of Sanaa, which has been closed to commercial flights since 2016.
“Patients and families are due to arrive in Sanaa airport at 12:30 local time (09:30 GMT), and the aircraft is expected to leave today,” a Houthi official at the airport told AFP news agency.
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On Sunday, Houthis criticised the evacuation plan as inadequate for the needs of thousands of people in urgent need of treatment.
“The World Health Organization said it will transport via a small UN plane only seven patients with their escorts per flight,” the rebels said in a statement.
“The number of people signed up for medical evacuations are around 32,000 patients with serious illnesses,” the statement added.
UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths last month told the Security Council that “we are very close to seeing the first flight move 30 patients who are now waiting in Sanaa for their treatment”.
“These flights will transport patients who need medical attention unavailable in Yemen to agreed locations abroad,” he said.
“I really hope that by the time we meet next month … we will have seen that first flight happen.”
The Norwegian Refugee Council welcomed the expected start of the humanitarian airlift but said that others were handed a “death sentence” when the coalition closed the airport in Sanaa.
“Today’s move comes too late for thousands of Yemenis who died waiting to leave the country for urgent life-saving care,” Mohamed Abdi, the NRC’s country director for Yemen, said.
“We hope that these medical flights will save the lives of other Yemenis. Many more are still waiting to get the healthcare they need,” Abdi added.
Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have been killed and millions displaced in the war, which the UN says has caused the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
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