The team of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) sent this Friday to the Ukrainian city of Mariupol (in the south of the country) to facilitate the evacuation of civilians was unable to reach the besieged town and had to return to its starting point in Zaporiya, so it will attempt the operation again tomorrow.
The organization indicated in a statement that the conditions “made it impossible to continue” the team, consisting of three vehicles and nine members of the CRIC staff, whose mission was to escort buses with evacuees through a humanitarian corridor.
It is estimated that some 160,000 citizens have been living without basic services for more than a month in Mariupol, a port on the Sea of Azov that has become the main target of Russian troops in Ukraine due to its strategic position between the Crimean peninsula and the Dombas.
For the successful evacuation of citizens who wish to leave Mariupol voluntarily “it is essential that the parties respect agreements, provide the necessary conditions and guarantees of security,” the ICRC said, stressing its traditional role as a neutral intermediary in the conflict.
The organization had already advised hours earlier, through the mouth of its Geneva spokesman Ewan Watson, that today's possible evacuation was not guaranteed, and that no essential details were yet available for it, such as the exact route of departure and the duration of the operations.
The Ukrainian Government reported on Thursday that 45 buses were sent to facilitate this evacuation, after the ICRC confirmed that Russia would allow the humanitarian corridor through the city of Berdyansk and through the Russian checkpoint in the city of Vasilievka.
In Mariupol, where some of the attacks that human rights organizations denounce as possible war crimes have been perpetrated, water and food have been scarce for weeks, and there is no supply of electricity or heating.
A previous attempt to evacuate the port city in early March with ICRC mediation also failed, after hostilities escalated in the area and the route out of the town was interpreted to be unsafe.
The organization has recalled that, for the evacuation to be successful, it is “critical” that the parties to the conflict respect the agreements reached and provide the necessary conditions and security guarantees to carry it out. Finally, it has insisted on its character as a “neutral intermediary”.
The Mariupol authorities reported during the day that some of the routes designated for evacuation continue to be blocked by Russian forces.
(With information from EFE and EuropaPress)
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