Red Crescent Volunteers Injured in Yemen amid Call for Protection of Humanitarian Workers

A Yemen Red Crescent Society volunteer was fighting for his life on Friday a few days after he was injured by shelling while on duty in Yemen's Maa'rib Governorate, a joint statement issued by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said.

Another three volunteers are in stable condition after they were wounded by shrapnel in the same attack on Monday, it said.

“The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement deplores this latest incident and is appalled by the failure to protect aid workers risking their lives on a daily basis for the sake of humanity in Yemen, and around the world,” the statement said.

“The Movement calls once again on all parties in Yemen to respect the red cross and red crescent emblems and international humanitarian law.

“The safety of aid workers must be assured, and their access to people in need of help unimpeded,” it added.

Saudi-led air strikes on a market killed 119 people this week in Hajja province, the United Nations said Thursday, nearly three times the previously reported death toll.

Among those killed in Mastaba district on Tuesday were 22 children, while another 47 people were wounded, the UNICEF children's agency said.

That air strikes were the latest in a series of similar attacks that have killed hundreds of civilians since the Yemen war began.

The conflict pits the Shiite Huthi rebels and military units loyal to a former president against the internationally-recognized government, which is largely confined to the southern city of Aden.

The fighting has killed more than 6,200 civilians, displaced millions and pushed the Arab world's poorest country to the brink of famine.