Aid agencies offer relief to conflict victims in Sa'ada

Aid agencies say ongoing political instability in parts of northern Yemen is hampering the delivery of humanitarian assistance to communities affected by the most recent flare-up of hostilities between government troops and religious dissidents. In March the northwestern province of Sa'ada once again saw heavy fighting between security forces and supporters of the slain rebel cleric, Hussein Badr Eddin al-Houthi. The authorities said almost 600 soldiers were killed in the clashes and thousands of civilians wounded. In June 2004 more than 100 people died after confrontations between the two opposing camps. The government accused al-Houthi - a former member of parliament, who represented the al-Haq Islamic party in 1993 - of fomenting sectarian strife in the country through his militant organisation. He denied the allegations and said the conflict with the authorities was a result of his anti-US stance. Al-Houthi was killed in a confrontation with Yemeni forces in September 2004. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Yemeni Red Crescent Society (YRCS) said although they had managed to deliver aid to communities in Marran, the scene of intense fighting from June to September 2004, they were struggling to get aid to the other parts of Sa'ada province affected by the recent battles. Since the end of May, a team consisting of three ICRC staff and 20 YRCS volunteers have distributed 1,100 water filters to households in the Marran area, and have also provided timber, corrugated iron, cement and sand so people can repair some 35 ponds used for water collection, which were damaged during the fighting. "Scarcity of water resources and access to clean water are a persistent problem in this region," Martin Amacher, head of the ICRC delegation, told IRIN. "However, we are concerned about the newly affected areas. I have requested a meeting with the governor of Sa'ada as soon as possible, to see what help we can provide to the people," he said. "We would like to assess the needs in the newly affected areas but we cannot do that, as we were told by the authorities that there are still some security concerns," Amacher noted. Hashim el-Zain, representative of the WHO in Yemen, said, "We helped after the first conflict ended by sending emergency kits, which cost US $26,000; we sent drugs, emergency equipment and other things. After that, a nutritional assessment study by the World Health Organisation was carried out. Unfortunately, it was not finalised before the eruption of the current fighting."