Mariupol evacuation Friday not yet certain: Red Cross

The Red Cross said it was heading to Mariupol and hoping to evacuate civilians from the besieged Ukrainian city, but it was still unclear if the operation could go ahead Friday.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said an ICRC team of three cars and nine staff was heading on the lengthy journey towards Mariupol from Zaporizhzhia.

"We remain hopeful, we are in action moving towards Mariupol... but it's not yet clear that this will happen today," ICRC spokesman Ewan Watson told reporters in Geneva.


"This effort has been, and remains, extremely complex.

"There are a lot of moving parts and not all of the details are yet in place to ensure that this happens in a safe manner."

He said that if and when the evacuation happens, the ICRC would lead the convoy out of Mariupol as a humanitarian marker.

"In order for us to start leading civilians out at the top of that convoy, we will need to have assurances that the route we are taking is safe," said Watson, adding: "We'll need to know where we're going."

Watson said the ICRC had no clear picture of how many people would want to be escorted from Mariupol, "but we do expect it to be in the thousands", with potentially 54 buses and many other civilian vehicles in the convoy.

"We are running out of adjectives to describe the horrors that residents in Mariupol have suffered," he said, adding: "There is no plan B here."

Furthermore, the ICRC said it did not receive permission to bring aid into the city to help civilians stuck amid the Russian bombardment.

"We didn't get the permission required to take aid in this morning," said Watson.

"Time is running out for the people of Mariupol. They are desperately in need of assistance."