After stopping using Hodeidah port, ICRC flies supplies into Sanaa airport .‏v

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File photo
File photo

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which stopped using Hodeidah port in February, is bringing supplies by sea from Oman to Aden and "testing" land routes from Oman, ICRC regional director Robert Mardini told Reuters on Wednesday.

It has coalition permission to fly supplies into Sanaa airport, closed to commercial flights, he said. The government is based in Aden while the Houthis hold the capital Sanaa.

The ICRC is supporting Al-Mansoura hospital in Aden, which has treated 5,000 critically wounded people so far this year, and is sending a surgical team to expand capacity, Mardini said.

Bin Daghr said the Houthis were holding nearly 3,000 detainees, including journalists and activists, and that the government wanted independent monitoring of their conditions.

The ICRC is seeking access from both sides to allow it to visit detainees held in connection with the conflict.

"We are getting many requests from families," Mardini said. "We have some worrying reports."

But both sides have demanded that the other side first allow ICRC to see its detainees, he said.