GENEVA (Sputnik) — The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Wednesday it had been denied access to the town of Maareb in central Yemen, where a large number of people are in urgent need of medical assistance.
"We very much regret the lack of access to Maareb, where hospitals face shortages of medical equipment. The wounded, including civilians and combatants, cannot get the lifesaving treatment they need," Cedric Schweizer, the head of the ICRC delegation in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, said.
Schweizer reiterated the call for an immediate 24-hour humanitarian pause in hostilities in the crisis-hit country, stressing that "the humanitarian situation is getting worse by the hour."
The humanitarian situation deteriorated in Yemen amid Saudi-led coalition airstrikes and battles between Houthi militants and forces loyal to displaced Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.
Yemen has been in a state of turmoil since the Houthis took over large parts of the country, including Sanaa, forcing President Hadi to ask the Arab League for military aid and then flee the country.
According to UN figures, at least 736 people, including 364 civilians, have been killed and 2,700 more injured since the international coalition began conducting airstrikes against Houthi positions in Yemen on March 25.
