The Yemeni Health Ministry holds Saudi Arabia and complicit international organizations responsible for the death of a conjoined twin

The Ministry of Health and Environment in Sana’a held Saudi Arabia and complicit international organizations responsible for the death of a conjoined twin, who died on Saturday, August 8, 2026, while being transported by land from Sana’a to Aden in an attempt to transfer him abroad for treatment, affirming that the closure of Sana’a Airport prevented his timely travel.

The ministry explained that the child had arrived at Al-Sabeen Maternity and Childhood Hospital in Sana’a over a week ago, coming from Saada governorate at five days old. He suffered from a complex fusion in the torso area, a rare condition requiring precise surgical intervention unavailable in Yemen, indicating that transfer abroad was his only chance for treatment.

The ministry stated that the continued closure of Sana’a Airport to passenger and patient movement has deprived the child of access to life-saving treatment, considering this a violation of international humanitarian law and a war crime against Yemenis. It called on the international community to assume its responsibilities, open an international investigation, and hold accountable those who caused patients and children to be deprived of treatment, affirming that the continued siege represents a systematic collective punishment against the Yemeni people.