Yemeni Ministry of Health: Nearly 16 thousand Yemenis died due to the closure of Sana’a Airport

The Ministry of Public Health and Population revealed that about 15,740 patients died following the blockade imposed by the Saudi-led coalition on Sana’a International Airport, although its use is considered a human right for every civilian.

“The continued closure of Sana’a International Airport by the Saudi-led coalition kills thousands of patients who urgently need to travel for treatment outside Yemen,” the ministry’s official spokesman Abdul-Hakim al-Kohlani said.

Al-Kohlani said that the Ministry of Health will stand beside the relatives of these victims in bringing their cases to the local and international courts and take their rights and the necessary compensations from all those who caused these crimes under international laws and conventions.

He also considered that the closure of Sana’a airport is a continuing war crime against patients in need of traveling abroad as it remains under siege despite all humanitarian appeals to reopen.

“The statement of the General Authority for Civil Aviation and Meteorology confirms the above and what is announced by the ministry on the level of this tragedy and crimes against humanity,” the official spokesman confirmed.

“The Ministry of Health has repeatedly alerted that about 100,000 Yemeni patients need to travel abroad for treatment. Some 32 to 35 patients die every day because they were prevented from traveling through Sana’a airport, which has been closed for a year and six months,” he said.

Dr. Kohlani stressed that those who need to travel abroad need an ambulance within half an hour or an hour to get to the plane, while traveling through the airports of Sayoun and Aden takes 18 to 24 hours. These airports are fraught with medical and security risks, where the Civil Aviation Authority indicated that one out of every ten cases died on their way to those airports.