The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Yemen on Monday expressed concern over repeated attacks on healthcare facilities, the latest of which took place in the southwestern province of Taiz.
“The ICRC is concerned about the reported attack which hit the compound of Al-Barah Rural Hospital in Maqbanah district on 16 July 2023,” the humanitarian aid organization said on Twitter.
The hospital is supported by the Yemeni Red Crescent Society and German Red Cross. “While the attack did not result in casualties or damage to the medical facilities, the attack put the medical staff and patients inside the hospital in great danger,” it said.
Taiz is controlled by government forces, but it’s besieged by the Houthi militia.
Hospitals have been repeatedly targeted during the conflict in Yemen, which has further weakened an already fragile healthcare system, said the ICRC statement, reiterating its call to all warring parties to protect medical missions and to ensure unfettered access to healthcare for all.
Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed Yemeni government out of the capital Sanaa.
The war has killed tens of thousands of people, devastated most of the country’s health system, and pushed Yemen to the brink of starvation.
