The internationally-backed Yemeni government voiced its fears of the catastrophic spread of the novel coronavirus in areas controlled by Houthi militias, demanding the United Nations and the international community to form an investigative committee to look into the matter.
Reports received from Houthi-run territories are frightening, the Yemeni government told Asharq Al-Awsat in an exclusive statement, adding that coronavirus patients looking to get treated in Houthi areas are dying. There are suspicions that Houthis are using lethal injections to get rid of coronavirus patients.
“Whoever enters this hospital (Jableh) does not leave, while he is alive, and the body is buried without the knowledge of family or relatives, who are denied participating in the burial ceremonies,” government spokesman Rajeh Badi said about the situation in Ibb governorate, where the Jableh hospital is located.
“We call on the UN and the international community to establish fact-finding committees to find out the truth about what is happening in hospitals under the control of the Houthi militias,” Badi said, adding that the numbers of coronavirus cases in Houthi-run areas are dramatically hiking.
Badi also warned that there are concerns over Houthis using lethal injections to end the lives of coronavirus patients instead of treating them, saying that there is a legal and moral obligation to be fulfilled by the UN and the World Health Organization (WHO).
“The Houthi group will not come clean about the number of coronavirus cases or deaths, instead it is sticking to announcing recovering cases only,” he pointed out.
“The truth is that the situation is catastrophic in these areas, and talk has begun in the popular circles and the media about a frightening increase in cases without any concern from the Houthi militia to disclose the number of real cases so that assistance can be provided to them before the matter becomes even worse,” Badi explained.