UN RAPS SAUDI AIRSTRIKES ON YEMEN

Sana’a, 5 Dhulqo’dah 1436/20 August 2015 (MINA) – The United Nations has strongly condemned Saudi Arabia for bombing the Yemeni port city of Hudaydah, a lifeline for imports of food, medicine, and fuel.

“These attacks are in clear contravention of international humanitarian law and are unacceptable,” UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien told the Security Council on Wednesday.

O’Brien also said that he was extremely concerned that the damage inflicted by Saudi airstrikes on this city could have “a severe impact” on the whole country, deteriorating the humanitarian crisis. Press Tv quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

“The scale of human suffering [in Yemen] is almost incomprehensible I was shocked by what I saw,” O’Brien further noted, adding that the attacks are unacceptable as they clearly violate international humanitarian law.

He called for a political solution to quell the violence and warned that launching peace talks are critical for resolving the crisis “before it’s too late. Otherwise there will be nothing left to fight for.”

The Saudi air raids on the western city of Hudaydah have completely burnt warehouses used to keep humanitarian aid supplies. Trucks and cranes have also been destroyed in the strikes.

The executive director of the World Food Program also warned of a growing humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

On March 26, Saudi Arabia began its military aggression against Yemen – without a UN mandate – in a bid to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement and restore power to the fugitive former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, an ally of Riyadh.

Over 4,300 people have been killed in the Yemeni conflict, the World Health Organization said on August 11. Local Yemeni sources, however, say the fatality figure is much higher. (T/P002/RO6)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)