SANAA // International aid agencies flew several tonnes of medical aid into Yemen’s capital on Friday as battle for control of the country raged on.
The United Nations also called for an immediate “humanitarian pause” of at least a few hours each day, saying aid was desperately needed in the conflict-ravaged country
The International Committee of the Red Cross said it dispatched an aircraft to Sanaa, its first aid shipment since the international campaign against Houthi rebels began last month.
“This is the first ICRC plane to have landed in Sanaa. It is loaded with 16.4 tonnes of medical aid,” said Marie Claire Feghali, Red Cross spokeswoman in Yemen.
Residents and officials in Aden said the city was pounded overnight after Houthi rebels and renegade army soldiers loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh arrived at the city’s northern entrance.
“The raids began at about 10pm on Thursday and were the most violent since the start of Operation Decisive Storm,” a resident said.
Residents also said coalition aircraft targeted other positions, including a stadium in the centre of the city and checkpoints manned by rebel forces.
More than two weeks of heavy bombardment by the Saudi-led alliance against opponents of exiled Yemeni president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi and fighting between rival militias prompted the UN call for a freeze in the violence.
UN humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, Johannes van der Klaauw, said in Geneva that an “immediate humanitarian pause in this conflict” was desperately needed.
He insisted that aid that got through was far from enough.
The UN’s children’s agency Unicef said it had delivered 16 tonnes of aid by air to Sanaa, including medical supplies for 80,000 people as well as food supplements for 20,000 children.
“The supplies we have managed to bring in today can make the difference between life and death for children and their families,” said Unicef Yemen representative Julien Harneis.
The Saudi-led coalition said it would continue its raids on Yemen until Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who seized control of Sanaa and central areas last year, retreated to their northern mountain stronghold.
Pakistan’s parliament rejected calls to join the anti-Houthi coalition on Friday, turning down long-standing ally Riyadh’s request for troops, ships and warplanes.
“Parliament of Pakistan ... underscores the need for continued efforts by the government of Pakistan to find a peaceful resolution of the crisis,” it said.
Friday’s Red Cross shipment was made up of “drugs and surgical instruments,” said the ICRC.
“These supplies will mean the difference between life and death for those wounded in this conflict,” said Cedric Schweizer, who leads the ICRC team in Yemen.
On Wednesday, two aid boats arrived in Aden carrying supplies, and personnel, destined for those trapped by and injured in continuing battles.
The UN refugee agency UNHCR said on Friday that at least 900 Yemenis had fled the violence to countries in the Horn of Africa over the past 10 days.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged Yemen’s warring factions to return to political talks, which were aimed at ending the country’s slide into chaos since Mr Saleh’s 2012 removal.
“The last thing the region and our world need is more of the chaos and crimes we have seen in Libya and Syria,” Mr Ban said ahead of a weekend trip to Qatar.
He warned that the conflict could have “deep and long-lasting regional repercussions”.
Meanwhile, a car bomb detonated outside a security building used by Houthi militiamen in central Yemen on Friday, killing at least seven people and wounding dozens, residents and a local official said.
The city of Bayhan in Shabwa province has witnessed heavy fighting between the Houthi fighters and local militiamen who have been supported by the Saudi-led air strikes.
* Agence France-Presse, Reutes
