Tens of thousands of Yemeni civilians have been trapped by fierce fighting between army forces and militants operating in the southern part of the country, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Wednesday.
The Yemen army is trying to capture areas held by militants linked to al-Qaeda in Abyan Province. Militants took over large portions of Abyan last year because of a security gap in the region during the unrest against former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
“We are extremely concerned about the people trapped inside, and about the dire situation in Ja'ar, Shukra and in nearby areas where fighting is going on,” stated Eric Marclay, the head of the ICRC delegation in Yemen.
“Our staff were there a few days ago to assess the situation and found serious, urgent needs that, if not met, could lead to the displacement of over 100,000 people. Thousands of people have already fled to safer places,” he added.
The entire province faces a severe food shortage, as food prices have soared. For the past week, much of Abyan has been without electricity, which affects water pumps and thus disrupts water supplies. Health care has also been inadequate.
“If we were immediately allowed to bring relief supplies in to Abyan, we could prevent population movements toward Aden,” Marclay said, referring to the southern city of Aden near the gulf of the same name.
The ICRC called on the Yemen army and anti-government fighters to allow humanitarian workers to deliver aid to the region. It also called on the government to guarantee the security to allow aid workers to operate.
Failing that, Marclay added, “an acute humanitarian crisis” could hit the southern province.
On Tuesday, at least 23 al-Qaeda affiliated militants were killed in clashes in Abyan, state-run SABA reported. It added that Somalis and Pakistanis were among those killed.
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