Yemeni conjoined twins arrive in Saudi Arabia for separation operation

The twins, called Yousef and Yassin were transferred to the King Salman Air Base in Riyadh by an air medical evacuation plane after months of waiting.

They were seen by a well-known paediatric surgeon from the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre and then transferred to the King Abdullah Specialist Children's Hospital at the ministry of National Guard, according to local reports.

A Royal Court advisor revealed last month that the twins are to be separated via an operation.

Twins joined at the head share a part of the skull and are incredibly rare often face medical difficulties.

The children's parents expressed gratitude to King Salman for listening to their appeal for help.

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"Alhamdulillah it was true, they told me that King Salman ordered my twins to be transferred to Saudi Arabia as soon as possible for possible treatment," their mother told The National.

Their father thanked the king and crown prince for their "noble humanitarian initiative that comes in recognition of the difficult conditions facing Yemen", the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Yassin and Yousef were born in October 2020.

This isn't the first time Saudi Arabia has helped fly in conjoined twins. In January conjoined twins were flown in from Al-Trais village, Hadramaut province, south eastern Yemen, where flash floods are destroying homes and killing people.

"Initial reports indicate some 3,730 families (22,380 people) have been affected by the rains and flooding, the majority of whom are internally displaced people," the UN humanitarian agency OCHA said.

"Intensified rainfall over the past few days is causing damage to infrastructure, destroying homes and shelter and causing deaths and injuries."

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and millions pushed to the brink of famine in the conflict between the Yemeni government - supported by a Saudi-led military coalition - and Iran-backed Houthi rebels, which began in September 2014.