Yemen: Thousands of people in need of food and shelter as fighting intensifies
Sanaa/Geneva (ICRC) - Intense fighting on the frontline between Sanaa and Al Jawf Governorate in Northern Yemen has displaced tens of thousands of people to Marib Governorate, leaving families without food, shelter and access to medical care. Marib Governorate already has a large population of displaced people, and their needs, whether they are newly-displaced or long-term residents of camps, are staggering.
The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Yemen Red Crescent Society have helped around 70,000 people, or 10,000 families, by providing food, tents, blankets, jerrycans, basins and hygiene kits. Additionally, the ICRC provided surgical material and medicine to Marib Commission Hospital and body bags to The Yemen Red Crescent Society to facilitate the dignified treatment of the dead in support to health facilities.
“I’ve met people from all over the country who fled to Marib. Some have been here for days, others for weeks, months or years. The lucky ones have joined family and friends while others have been forced to leave everything behind. Time and again Yemenis are being forced to flee, leaving behind loved ones, losing their homes, keeping only their hope,” said Mariateresa Cacciapouti, head of the ICRC’s sub-delegation working in Marib.
In Al Jawf Governorate, increased clashes have hampered efforts to help patients and those in need. A Yemen Red Crescent Society ambulance was unable to carry out a medical evacuation due to lack of safe access and the ICRC was unable to supply Al-Jawf Public General hospital with surgical and medical supplies, for example.
“In a country where barely half of health facilities are functioning this is very worrying. We remind all parties to the conflict that access for health personnel is essential and that facilities must be kept open and never targeted during military operations. Medical staff, ambulances and health facilities must be always protected,” said Fabrizio Carboni, ICRC Regional Director of Near and Middle East.
The ICRC is closely monitoring the situation and is deeply concerned about the impact of the intense fighting on people in an already extremely fragile state.
We urge the parties to the conflict to take every possible measure and precaution to protect and respect civilians. Special attention must be given to those who are already in a vulnerable situation, living in displacement camps and at risk of being affected by the shifting of frontlines and direct fighting.
For more information, please get in touch:
Fareed Alhomaid, Spokesperson, ICRC Sanaa, +967 739 164 666, falhomaid@icrc.org
Sarah Al Zawqari, Near and Middle East Regional Spokesperson, ICRC Beirut. +961 3 13 83 53, salzawqari@icrc.org
Matt Morris, Head of Communication, ICRC London, +44 7753 809471, mmorris@icrc.org
Ruth Hetherington, Near and Middle East Spokesperson, ICRC Geneva +41 79 447 3726, rhetherington@icrc.org
Story: Displacement Wave to Mareb
Date Shot: 29-02-2020, 01-03-2020, 03-03-2020
Location: Alswaida & Aljufaina in Mareb
Country: YEMEN
Sound: Natural/Arabic
Duration: 05:20
Aspect ratio: 16:9
Restrictions: None
SHOT LIST
Mareb, YEMEN – February 29 to March 3, 2020
00:00 – 00:10 Ultra-wide shot of the camp
00:00 – 00:31 Various shots of newly displaced people preparing their tents
00:32 – 00:52 Various shots of displaced people in the camp
00:53 – 01:06 The inside of a tent
01:07 – 01:16 Wide shot of a child standing outside a makeshift toilet
01:17 – 01:41 Children filling their bottles from a water tank
01:42 – 01:56 Various shots from the camp
01:57 – 02:16 A woman and her child inside their tent
02:17 – 02:30 Various shots from ICRC food and shelter aid distribution
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Faris Albeshari, ICRC Economic Security Officer
02:31 – 02:46 I am Faris Albeshari, an ICRC officer in Economic Security department. We, the ICRC in the cooperation with the Yemeni Red Crescent Society in Mareb are here to distribute food parcels to 5’000 families in Aljufina camp.
02:47 – 02:57 We are also distributing food and shelter items to 4’000 families residing in other several camps in Mareb and Alwadi districts.
02:58 – 03:09 Right now, we are distributing food parcels and shelter items to 400 families newly displaced from Nihm, Majzar and AlJawf governorate due to the recent event
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdulnaser Alameri, Aljufaina camp manager.
03:10 – 03:13 I am the camp manager of Aljufaina camp
03:14 – 03:25 Aljufaina camp was established in 2015. The number of displaced people currently in the camp has reached 6’500 families
03:26 – 03:32 waved of displacement is still ongoing. The challenges and the needs of the displaced families are many
03:33 – 03:45 The priority is shelter; some families don’t have places to stay, no tents, no mattresses.
03:46 – 03:55 We have water shortages, people in the camp are forced to travel far to buy water
03:56 – 04:11 We have health issues; there hasn’t been any clinic or medical centre established in the camp since it was opened. Sick people need to go very far to get medical care
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) A displaced lady at Aljufaina camp.
04:12 – 04:22 We were displaced from our hometown in Aljawf to here in Alswaida on foot, I swear we didn’t have clothes..no mattresses, no blankets, no cooking tools, no toilets, no electricity.
04:12 – 04:25 The tents are broken, thin, look the sun rays go through them, what kind of a life this is
04:27 – 04:31 We fled on foot with nothing other than the clothes we were wearing. This is not a life, I prefer to die.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) A displaced man at Aljufaina camp.
04:32 – 04:37 I fled from Alkhaniq and before that I was displaced from Hareeb Nihm
04:38 – 04:45 The fighting approached the area where the displaced camp was in Al Khaniq so we had to flee to here
04:46 – 05:05 We are now displaced as you can see, we have tents that don’t protect us from sun or rain. We have no mattresses, no cooking gas, no kitchen tools, no toilets, no water tanks, we don’t have anything.
05:06 – 05:18 We are suffering, we are really in dire need. I sleep on the sand, I swear that’s where I sleep. This is extremely painful for us and very sad
