The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Saturday that heavy fighting on the front lines between Sana’a and Al-Jawf governorates in northern Yemen has displaced tens of thousands of people to Marib, leaving families without food, shelter or health care.

 The committee said in a statement that Marib governorate already has a large number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and that the needs are enormous, whether for the newly displaced or long-term residents of IDP camps.

The ICRC said that in cooperation with the Yemeni Red Crescent, it has recently supported around 70,000 people, or 10,000 families, by distributing food and non-food items, including tents, blankets, water containers, laundry pots and personal hygiene items.

“This is very worrying in a country where barely half of the health facilities operate,” said Fabrizio Carbone, ICRC regional director for the Near East and Middle East. “We remind all parties to the conflict that ensuring safe access for health workers is essential, that medical facilities must remain open and never targeted during military operations, and that medical personnel, ambulances, and health facilities must be protected.”

The statement added that intensified fighting in Al-Jawf has hampered efforts to help the sick and needy, and urged the parties to the conflict to take all possible measures to protect and respect civilians.