Yemeni conjoined twins arrive in Riyadh for separation surgery

Twins are two months old and are joined at the abdomen and chest

Yemeni conjoined twins Mawadda and Rahma arrive in Riyadh from Aden to undergo separation surgery. Photo: KS Relief

Yemeni conjoined twins arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday for a medical check-up before their separation surgery, state media said.

A Saudi-led coalition medical aircraft transported the two-month-old twins, Mawadda and Rahma, and their parents to Riyadh from Aden.

The twins will undergo an intensive medical examination at King Abdullah paediatric hospital to explore different scenarios for their separation. The girls are joined at the abdomen and the chest.

Hozaifa Moaman, the father of the twins, thanked Saudi Arabia's King Salman and the government for offering to treat his daughters.

King Abdullah Specialised Children’s Hospital has performed complex separation surgeries for dozens of conjoined twins.

Yemen has been mired in a brutal seven-year conflict that has pitted the government against Iran-backed Houthi rebels. The Houthis seized the capital Sanaa in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led military coalition to intervene.

More than 150,000 people have died in the violence and the country's health system has been devastated, in what the UN describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Saudi Arabia's state-run King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre provides regular humanitarian assistance to Yemen.

Last July, Saudi doctors separated a pair of Yemeni twins in a 50th successful operation.

In December, another set of Yemeni twins were separated by doctors in Jordan before being flown back to Sanaa, the UN children's agency said.

AFP contributed to this report