Yemeni boy shifted to UAE for treatment

abu dhabi — An eight-year-old Yemeni child Sanbani Obaid has been airlifted to an Emirati hospital after he was shot in the neck by the Iranian-backed Houthi militias.

An Emirati surgical team working with the Arab Coalition led by Saudi Arabia in Yemen’s Red Sea Coast received Sanbani, who had a bullet lodged near his heart, and stabilised his condition. He was then transported to the UAE to continue his treatment.

The doctor who treated the child, Dr Ahmed Al Mazrouei, said: “The Emirati field hospital in the Red Sea Coast of Yemen received the child in a critical condition due to being shot in the neck with a bullet that became lodged near his heart. It resulted in heavy bleeding inside his chest and damage to his lungs. We conducted an emergency operation and offered the necessary treatment until his condition became settled, and his life was saved.”

Al Mazrouei added that after his condition was stabilised, a request for a medical evacuation to a hospital in the UAE was made, to continue his medical treatment and psychological rehabilitation.

The UAE is treating Sanbani at one of the country’s hospitals to improve his condition, as part of its ongoing humanitarian efforts to support the Yemeni people.

The father of Sanbani, Obaid Salman, thanked the UAE for its timely response to his child’s medical situation and for saving his life while praising the humanitarian efforts of the Arab Coalition Forces.

The UAE has treated many patients and wounded people in hospitals both inside and outside the country, due to the weakened state of the Yemeni health sector. —