Kuwait (ICRC) – The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Peter Maurer, called today for a stronger response to the needs of civilians affected by the ongoing conflict in Yemen.
Mr Maurer, who is on an official visit to the Sultanate of Oman, met with the minister for foreign affairs, Yusuf Bin Alawi Bin Abdullah, to express the ICRC's gratitude to His Majesty the Sultan of Oman and to the government of Oman for their invaluable support in establishing an ICRC office in Muscat and a logistics base in Salalah; Mr Maurer also discussed regional developments, particularly events in Yemen, with the foreign minister, and possibilities for stepping up cooperation between the ICRC and the Sultanate of Oman.
"Armed conflict and other forms of violence are doing an extraordinary amount of harm to civilians, in Yemen and elsewhere," Mr Maurer said. "The ICRC endeavours to help – to the greatest extent possible – those who are most affected. We are extremely grateful to His Majesty and to the government of Oman for easing the delivery of ICRC aid to the people in Yemen who need it most."
Mr Maurer also met with the executive chairman of the Oman Charitable Organization, Ali Ibrahim Al-Raesi, to discuss matters related to coordination, with a view to boosting the ICRC's humanitarian response to the crisis unfolding in various parts of Yemen.
The ICRC's logistics base in Salalah will serve as a transit point for humanitarian assistance – the ICRC's and that provided by various National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies – for Yemen. This will, it is hoped, speed up the ICRC's response. The base in Salalah should be in operation by mid-June 2015.
For further information, please contact:
Fouad Bawaba, ICRC Kuwait, tel: +965 9787 9434 or +965 253 22062
