“Yemen after five months looks like Syria after five years,” the head of the international Red Cross, Peter Maurer told AP, after witnessing the destruction first hand. “The images I have from Sanaa and Aden remind of what I have seen in Syria.” Violence in Yemen escalated late March after a Saudi-led coalition began its airstrike campaign to support forces loyal to the exiled government of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi. Months of bombardment caused large-scale destruction and eventually led to tanks and other military hardware deployments to break the stalemate on the ground. All this, in addition to the air and naval blockade the Saudis continue to enforce on their neighbor, have led to a devastating humanitarian crisis. “The firepower with which this war is fought on the ground and in the air is causing more suffering than in other societies which are stronger and where infrastructures are better off and people are wealthier and have reserves and can escape,” Maurer said. Maurer also noted that he had a rare opportunity to assess the aid response, saying that despite a moment of relative calmness in the capital the question of whether any help will come remains.