Oxfam and aid organizations extremely concerned about recent military escalation in Yemen

In reaction to the strikes on Jawf governorate, northern Yemen, which killed 31 and injured 12 civilians on February 15, Oxfam and ten international aid organizations working in Yemen said:

We are shocked and deeply saddened to hear about the deaths of 31 civilians and the injury of 12 others in strikes on Al Jawf governorate in northern Yemen, which took place on February 15.

This latest tragic incident closely follows another attack on February 7 on Marib’s main hospital, which serves 15,000 people. A nearby hospital and mobile clinic were also structurally damaged as a result of that attack.

Indiscriminate attacks like these on health facilities deny access to life-saving health care to thousands of vulnerable Yemenis and are illegal under international law.

We call on warring parties to uphold the laws of war to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, and to provide safe and unhindered access to displaced families so that they can access food, water, shelter and other assistance.

Since mid-January, heavy fighting and airstrikes in Nihm, Al Jawf and Marib governorates in northern Yemen have already forcibly displaced 28,000 civilians who are now in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

The current violence is threatening to tilt the country towards a disaster, potentially reversing chances to bring the conflict to an end. We are calling on warring parties not to jeopardize the recent progress in reducing violence, and to agree on a nationwide ceasefire, restarting long-overdue peace talks.

Yemen needs a political solution to end the violence and suffering, once and for all.

Signed by:

• Action Contre la Faim
• Adventist Relief and Development Agency
• CARE International
• Danish Refugee Council
• Handicap International - Humanity and Inclusion
• International Rescue Committee
• Medecins du Monde
• Norwegian Refugee Council
• Oxfam
• Save the Children
• ZOA

For more information:
Paula Baker
Oxfam Canada
Media Relations
(613) 240-3047