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EU announces 5.1 mln euros of humanitarian aid to Yemen

Xinhua, May 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

The European Commission announced 5.1 million euros (5.67 million U.S. dollars) of aid to Yemen in response to its growing humanitarian needs, the Commission said in a press release Thursday.

The aid was given through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), one of the few relief organizations with access to some of the most vulnerable victims.

"This funding will help provide food, water, medical supplies and other essential aid," said the European Commission.

Humanitarian aid allocated for Yemen by the Commission so far in 2015 amounts to 25 million euros.

Christos Stylianides, the Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, called on the fighting sides in Yemen to refrain from targeting civilian areas and respect international humanitarian law.

Yemen has been mired in political gridlock since 2011 when mass protests forced former president Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down.

Three-year reconciliation talks failed to resolve the crisis and created a huge power vacuum that benefited the powerful al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and other extremist groups. Endit