Iran Press/Middle East: "We ask this of nations to pressure the Saudi coalition into relieving Yemen’s siege and allowing in medical equipment and the types of equipment that are used for diagnosis of the Coronavirus," Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, chairman of the Supreme Revolutionary Committee of Yemen, tweeted late on Sunday.
"World countries should busy themselves doing so instead of just assessing the number of the infected Yemenis," he noted.
Saudi Arabia and a number of its allies invaded the Arab world’s already most impoverished nation in March 2015 to try and restore power to its former Riyadh-backed officials.
The invaders have, throughout the course of the war, been enforcing an all-out aerial, naval, and land blockade on the country under the pretext of preventing the transfer of arms to Yemen’s popular Houthi Ansarullah movement that has been defending the nation against the military campaign.
The war has killed tens of thousands of Yemenis and turned the country into the scene of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. The coalition has kept up its aggression despite the viral outbreak that has infected 128 people and claimed 20 lives across Yemen. The invading forces have also reportedly violated a ceasefire that they themselves had announced on the occasion of Ramazan.
Yemen is already on the brink of famine by the five-year Saudi war. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said on Monday Yemen could see a 'catastrophic' food security situation due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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The Saudi war has caused what the United Nations describes as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. Some 80% of Yemen’s population is reliant on aid and millions face hunger.
"The health system was already under heavy stress and will now be overwhelmed if Covid-19 continues to spread and in addition, it will affect the movement of people and the movement of goods," Abdessalam Ould Ahmed, the FAO’s assistant director-general and regional representative for the Near East and North Africa said.
"That situation could be really catastrophic if all the elements of worst-case scenarios come to be but let’s hope not and the UN are working on avoiding that."
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Coronavirus may be 'catastrophic' for Yemen: WHO official
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