ICRC Evacuates 123 Wounded from Dammaj

On 24 November, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) evacuated 21 critically wounded people from Dammaj, northen Yemen, in a fourth round of evacuations since the beginning of the month and the fifth since the latest round of fighting broke out. Altogether, the ICRC transferred 123 critically wounded people, one pregnant woman and four children to safety.
On 7 October, a new round of fighting erupted between armed groups in the governorate of Sa'ada, causing dozens of casualties on both sides. The ICRC offered its humanitarian services as a neutral and impartial organization, and declared its willingness to evacuate the wounded if needed.

The organization, which has been working in Yemen since 1962, also called on the parties involved to show respect for the lives and physical well-being of all. The wounded must receive the medical care they require and health facilities must be protected.

In each transfer operation, those evacuated from Dammaj were taken by road to Sa'ada and, if necessary, airlifted to Sana'a for treatment, as the local health facilities in Dammaj are unable to provide suitable care for the most critical cases.

Since the beginning of October, the ICRC has managed to enter Dammaj five times: on 24 October, and on 4, 8, 14 and 24 November.

On these operations, the ICRC:

• Transferred seven injured people and one corpse to the military hospital in Sa'ada;
• Evacuated 123 severely wounded people for treatment in Sa'ada, and one eight-month-pregnant woman and four children for treatment in Sana'a;
• Delivered enough medicines and wound-dressing materials on both sides of the front line to treat from 200 to 600 casualties, and medicines for the treatment of such illnesses as diarrhoea and respiratory infections.

ICRC in Yemen

• The ICRC has been active in Yemen since 1962, when armed conflict broke out between republicans and royalists after the overthrow of the Imamate in the north of the country.
• In 1968, the ICRC founded the first limb-fitting facility in Sana'a – which has since been expanded to five facilities – and subsequently handed it over to the Yemeni authorities.
• In the south of Yemen, the ICRC established its first contacts during the "war of independence" and ran a delegation in Aden from 1967 to 1974.
• The Sana'a office became a delegation in 1999. Since then, the ICRC has gradually expanded its activities in the country, starting with a presence in the northern governorate of Sa'ada in 2004, which was followed by the opening of a sub-delegation there in 2007.
• In 2009, another sub-delegation was opened in the northern governorate of Amran, while yet another sub-delegation office was set up in Aden in 2010. The ICRC has been working in partnership with the Yemen Red Crescent Society since the latter was founded, in 1970.