(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The UN and Red Cross warned fuel shortages are threatening to halt relief operations in Yemen and urged warring sides to spare hospitals, as Saudi-led air strikes entered a sixth week Friday.
The latest strikes and clashes on the ground killed 47 people in second city Aden, where the Red Cross also scrambled to evacuate staff and patients from a hospital when it became a front line.
And after a meeting in Riyadh, Gulf Arab foreign ministers rejected any moves to hold peace talks between Yemeni rivals at a neutral venue, as sought by Saudi Arabia's arch foe Iran.
The conflict escalated in March when a Saudi-led coalition launched strikes against Iran-backed Shiite rebels who overran much of the country, forcing President Abedrabbo Mansur Hadi to flee.
The bombing has virtually halted the delivery of humanitarian aid and other goods, including fuel, with the International Committee of the Red Cross describing the situation as "alarming".
"After a month of air strikes and fighting, Yemen's health system is struggling to cope and there are severe shortages of essential items especially food and fuel," the ICRC said in a statement.
The World Food Programme said it was halting its food distribution due to the shortage of fuel in Yemen where most of the stocks are in the hands of rebels.
"Humanitarian operations will end within days unless fuel supplies are restored," UN chief Ban Ki-moon warned.
Ban called for an "immediate resumption of fuel imports to avoid making the already catastrophic humanitarian situation in Yemen even worse."
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