“The ICRC team, which consists of three vehicles and nine personnel, did not reach Mariupol or facilitate the safe passage of civilians [on Friday]. They will try again on Saturday to facilitate the safe passage of civilians from Mariupol. For the operation to succeed, it is critical that the parties respect the agreements and provide the necessary conditions and security guarantees. If and when the safe passage operation does happen, the ICRC’s 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. The parties to the conflict would also need to fulfill the agreements reached to allow for this operation to happen” says the International Red Cross in a statement.