MSF says it can’t deliver live-saving aid to Yemen capital

CAIRO – International aid group Doctors Without Borders says it has not been able to deliver live-saving medical and humanitarian assistance to the people in dire need in the Yemeni capital because of a blockade by a Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Shiite rebels.

The group, known by its French acronym MSF, says in a statement Saturday it hasn’t received authorization from the coalition to fly from Djibouti to Sanaa.

The group welcomes the reopening of the port in the city of Aden; however it says this is “far from sufficient to deliver timely and urgent medical humanitarian aid across Yemen.”

The U.S.-backed coalition imposed a land, sea and air blockade Nov. 6 after a missile attack by rebels on the Saudi capital Riyadh. Saudi Arabia said Monday the coalition would lift the blockade.