Geneva (ICRC) - 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 had to return to Zaporizhzhia after arrangements and conditions made it impossible to proceed.

The ICRC team, which consists of three vehicles and nine personnel, did not reach Mariupol or facilitate the safe passage of civilians today. 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 fulfil the agreements reached to allow for this operation to happen.

For more information, please contact:

press@icrc.org