Red Cross team attempting to help civilians in Mariupol forced to retreat

Ukrainian rescue workers carry an elderly woman under the destroyed bridge in Irpin, close to Kyiv close to Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, April 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

An International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) team that had been on its way to Mariupol on Friday to facilitate the safe passage of civilians was forced to retreat.

The team had to return to Zaporizhzhia after arrangements and conditions made it impossible to proceed, the ICRC said on Friday.

The ICRC team consists of three vehicles and nine personnel who will again attempt to facilitate the safe passage of civilians from the besieged city of Mariupol on Saturday.

In a statement, the ICRC said that the parties to the conflict will need to "fulfil the agreements reached" in order to allow for the operation to happen.

“For the operation to succeed, it is critical that the parties respect the agreements and provide the necessary conditions and security guarantees,” a statement read.

If and when the safe passage operation does happen, the ICRC said its role as a neutral intermediary would be “to accompany the convoy out from Mariupol to another city in Ukraine”.

“Our presence will put a humanitarian marker on this planned movement of people, giving the convoy additional protection and reminding all sides of the civilian, humanitarian nature of the operation.” 

Spokesperson Ewan Watson said the convoy of buses had set off for Mariupol on Friday without the aid supplies, in the hope of reaching the city to evacuate trapped civilians.

While the International Committee of the Red Cross said a convoy it had organised had been denied permission to bring aid into Mariupol, it did not say who had refused permission.

Ukraine has blamed Russia for refusing to allow any aid to reach the city.

On Thursday, Russian forces blocked a 45-bus convoy attempting to take people out of Mariupol after the military agreed to a limited ceasefire in the area, and only 631 people were able to leave in private cars, the Ukrainian government said.

Russian forces also seized 14 tons of food and medical supplies trying to reach Mariupol, deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.

The city has been the scene of some of the worst suffering of the war. 

Tens of thousands of residents have managed to leave in the past few weeks through humanitarian corridors, reducing the population from a pre-war 430,000 to an estimated 100,000 by last week, but continued Russian attacks have repeatedly thwarted aid and evacuation missions.