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Humanitarian crisis in Yemen alarming: opposition activist

Xinhua, July 22, 2015 Adjust font size:

The raid of Saudi-led coalition on Yemen has resulted in the death of common people and led to the serious humanitarian crisis in the country, Sheikh al-Matari, the opposition activist and the head of Yemen's Rasoul Akram Foundation told reporters in Tehran on Wednesday.

The continuous bombings on Yemen have caused many hospitals to be destroyed or closed, al-Matari said. The coastal seige of Yemen has also led to the shortage of medicine and food which is an alarming sign in the ongoing situation of Yemen.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has used unconventional weapons in its war on Yemen, which has caused the number of casualties to increase, he said.

Al-Matari urged the international organizations, particularly the United Nations, to fulfill their responsibility to stop the war in Yemen and to end the agonies of the Yemeni people.

He also called on the international community to try and punish the perpetrators of the war imposed on Yemen.

The Yemeni fighters are preparing for a "strategic phase" in their struggle against the Saudi-led coalition in which, he said, adding that they will target the Saudi ports and economic zones.

Asked about the current situation in Yemen's Aden city, Sadeq al-Sarafi, another Yemeni activist, said that the Saudi propaganda to have control over Aden is only illusion and imaginary.

The truth is that the Yemeni army and all the voluntary forces are present in the strategic parts of Aden province and are capable of controlling the whole province, al-Sarafi said.

The victories that Saudi Arabia is boasting about is "sheer lies" and that is the media hype controlled by Saudi rulers and their allies, Sheikh al-Matari said.

Saudi Arabia has long accused Iran of arming and financing Houthi fighters, an accusation strongly rejected by Tehran.

The Saudi-led coalition has waged the air war on Houthi rebels since late March in an effort to restore the authority of exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who is now based in Riyadh. Endit