Sana'a: Conjoined twins died while being transported by land from the capital, Sana'a, to Aden. The journey was a desperate attempt to secure their transfer abroad for necessary medical treatment. According to Yemen News Agency, the Ministry of Health and Environment confirmed in a statement that the continued closure of Sana'a Airport and the complicity of international organizations prevented the twins from being airlifted abroad in a timely manner. This necessitated an attempt to transport them by land, but they died during the journey.
The statement indicated that the twins remained for more than a week at Al-Sabeen Hospital in the capital, Sana'a, while efforts were made to secure an urgent travel opportunity for treatment. However, medical authorities were unable to transfer them abroad due to their need for specialized care unavailable locally.
The Ministry of Health expressed its deepest condolences to the family of the conjoined twins, who passed away on Saturday, August 8, 2016. This occurred after the Saudi-led coalition unilaterally closed Sana'a Airport on August 8, 2016, the same day the twins died.
It explained that this decision, over the course of ten years, has become a weapon of genocide aimed at the necks of millions of Yemenis, with the conjoined twins being one of its most prominent victims.
It stated that the twins arrived at Al-Sabeen Maternity and Children's Hospital in Sana'a more than a week ago, at just five days old, from Sa'dah Governorate. They were suffering from a complex conjoined stump, a rare condition requiring delicate surgical intervention unavailable at any medical center in Yemen. Their only chance of survival was immediate transfer abroad.
The Ministry reiterated that the continued Saudi blockade and the complete closure of Sana'a International Airport to passengers and patients are the direct cause of the twins' death, a full-fledged war crime committed against the defenseless Yemeni people. The aggression prevented the twins from leaving the country to receive life-saving treatment at a time when their lives were in jeopardy.
The Ministry considered the continuation of this unjust blockade not only a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, but also a systematic mass execution of patients and children in Yemen. It held the Saudi enemy and the complicit international organizations fully responsible for this crime, demanding an immediate international trial for all those who caused this child and others to be deprived of their fundamental right to life.