Founder of Yemen’s Red Crescent dies in Sanaa hospital

Abdullah al-Khamessi, who was in his 70s, died Friday in Ibn Sinaa hospital in Sanaa.

The founder of Yemen’s Red Crescent has died in the war-torn country’s capital due to deteriorating health.

A boy looks at the wreckage of a taxi car destroyed by a Saudi-led air strike on a checkpoint of the armed Houthi movement near Sanaa, Yemen on August 30. (REUTERS)

Physician Mohammed al-Kaattaa said Abdullah al-Khamessi, who was in his 70s, died Friday in Ibn Sinaa hospital in Sanaa.

Al-Kaattaa said al-Khamessi’s family had tried to deliver stents — a medical device used to treat narrow or clogged arteries — but the closure of the Sanaa airport for over a year hindered the process.

Still, the physician said al-Khamessi’s age and deteriorating health were the primary reasons for his death.

A Saudi-led coalition backing an internationally recognized government had imposed a blockade on the country, which is crippled by a two-year long civil war.