A Red Cross team was unable to enter Mariupol, Ukraine on Friday as the war-torn city’s citizens look for help in leaving for safer parts of the country.
The Red Cross unit of nine aid workers said in a statement that they had attempted to travel to Mariupol in three vehicles to help with the safe passage out of the city of residents. But they had to return to Zaporizhzhia after experiencing conditions that “made it impossible to proceed” to their destination.
The team said they are going to attempt to reach Mariupol on Saturday.
“For the operation to succeed, it is critical that the parties respect the agreements and provide the necessary conditions and security guarantees,” the Red Cross said, according to CNN.
The Red Cross plans to act as a “neutral intermediary” in order “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,” the organization added.
The Red Cross team was attempting to lead a convoy out of the city of 54 buses and some private cars, Global News reported.
This week, Mariupol’s mayor said that 170,000 residents were stuck in the city with no power and few supplies. The city has suffered daily attacks from Russian forces since the invasion began.
Other attempts to bring aid to the city have not been successful, with each side blaming the other.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)