Coronavirus: Yemen faces new war

In a hospital in Sana'a, a doctor listens to a patient's concerns about Covid-19, on March 17, 2020. The first case of coronavirus in Yemen was announced on April 10. Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

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The government national emergency commission announced, Friday, April 10, a first case of contamination in the country. Already bruised by a war which cost the lives of tens of thousands of people and by the humanitarian crisis which ensued, Yemen fears a health disaster with the arrival of Covid-19 on its territory.

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" The first confirmed case of new coronavirus has been identified in the province of Hadramout ": it is with these words, relayed on Twitter Friday, April 10, that the government national emergency commission on Covid-19 announced that the pandemic now also affected Yemen. The infected person is treated and is in a stable state. The commission, chaired by President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, also said that everything had been done to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

Coalition ceasefire fears spread of coronavirus

This first contamination is one more test for a population already very tested by a civil war which has lasted for almost six years and by a terrible humanitarian crisis. The bombings, the embargo, famine and several epidemics have already taken their toll, with tens of thousands of dead and 24 million Yemenis depending on humanitarian aid according to the United Nations (UN). Now, the Covid-19, which has claimed the lives of almost 100,000 people worldwide (official figures as of April 9), also affects Yemen .

► Read also: Yemen, the stuck conflict

On Thursday, the coalition - led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in particular - which is waging the war against Yemen declared a two-week unilateral ceasefire . Riyadh and Abu Dhabi say they responded favorably to the request of the UN, which called for a cessation of fighting to fight the Covid-19. Saudi Arabia, which has more than 3,200 infections and 44 deaths on its territory, fears that the arrival of the Covid-19 in neighboring Yemen will further accelerate the health crisis which it must face itself.

The Houthi rebels, an Iranian-backed Shiite militia that controls the Yemeni capital Sanaa and the entire northwest of the country, have rejected the ceasefire declared by their coalition enemies. One of their officials sees it as " a political and media maneuver ". The Houthis are still demanding the unlimited cessation of the fighting and the lifting of the triple blockade on land, air and sea. For Yemenis, the situation is getting even more complicated with a new additional scourge called de Covid-19.

(With AFP)

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  • Yemen
  • Coronavirus
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Health and Medicine
  • United Arab Emirates

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