Saudi-Led Coalition Bombs Hudaydah, UN Issues Warning
ADEN (Dispatches) – A Saudi-led coalition aircraft bombarded Houthi fighters holed up at the airport of Yemen’s main port Hudaydah on Monday as a senior alliance official said he hoped UN diplomacy could coax the movement to cede the city to "save the population”.
There are fears that a prolonged battle for the city, where the Houthis are dug in to protect critical supply lines from the Red Sea to their bastion in the capital Sanaa, could aggravate what is already the world’s most urgent humanitarian crisis.
The Saudi-led alliance launched an onslaught on Hudaydah six days ago in order to turn the tables in a long-stalemated war.
UN high commissioner for human rights has warned that the Saudi-led attacks on Hudaydah could endanger the lives of millions of people as Riyadh resumed its airstrikes on the Yemeni port city’s airport, forcing civilians to shelter in schools.
"I emphasize my grave worry regarding the Saudi and Emirati-led coalition's ongoing attacks in Hudaydah – which could result in enormous civilian casualties and have a disastrous impact on life-saving humanitarian aid to millions of people which comes through the port," Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said Monday.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE launched a major assault on June 13 to take Hudaydah, a densely-populated city and the war-torn country's most vital port.
The Houthi movement has been running Yemen's state affairs in the absence of an effective administration during the past three years.
Despite warning from international organizations, Saudi Arabia's Apache attack helicopters resumed aerial attacks on schools and homes in the Manzar neighborhood abutting the airport compound in Hudaydah Monday, residents said.
The intensified airstrikes came after the Houthi fighters on Sunday dismissed reports that Saudi-led forces had seized the airport, saying the aggressors were on the retreat on all front lines.
Amid the Houthis’ advances, a senior UAE official said on Monday the Saudi-led coalition against Yemen will take a "calculated and gradual" approach to the battle.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash claimed the coalition was taking into consideration a "fragile humanitarian situation," avoiding civilian casualties in addition to military calculations.
This picture shows an armored vehicle on fire as Saudi led forces conduct an attack on Yemeni positions in the area of al-Fazah in Yemen's Hudaydah province on June 16, 2018.
There are fears that a prolonged battle for the city, where the Houthis are dug in to protect critical supply lines from the Red Sea to their bastion in the capital Sanaa, could aggravate what is already the world’s most urgent humanitarian crisis.
The Saudi-led alliance launched an onslaught on Hudaydah six days ago in order to turn the tables in a long-stalemated war.
UN high commissioner for human rights has warned that the Saudi-led attacks on Hudaydah could endanger the lives of millions of people as Riyadh resumed its airstrikes on the Yemeni port city’s airport, forcing civilians to shelter in schools.
"I emphasize my grave worry regarding the Saudi and Emirati-led coalition's ongoing attacks in Hudaydah – which could result in enormous civilian casualties and have a disastrous impact on life-saving humanitarian aid to millions of people which comes through the port," Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said Monday.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE launched a major assault on June 13 to take Hudaydah, a densely-populated city and the war-torn country's most vital port.
The Houthi movement has been running Yemen's state affairs in the absence of an effective administration during the past three years.
Despite warning from international organizations, Saudi Arabia's Apache attack helicopters resumed aerial attacks on schools and homes in the Manzar neighborhood abutting the airport compound in Hudaydah Monday, residents said.
The intensified airstrikes came after the Houthi fighters on Sunday dismissed reports that Saudi-led forces had seized the airport, saying the aggressors were on the retreat on all front lines.
Amid the Houthis’ advances, a senior UAE official said on Monday the Saudi-led coalition against Yemen will take a "calculated and gradual" approach to the battle.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash claimed the coalition was taking into consideration a "fragile humanitarian situation," avoiding civilian casualties in addition to military calculations.
This picture shows an armored vehicle on fire as Saudi led forces conduct an attack on Yemeni positions in the area of al-Fazah in Yemen's Hudaydah province on June 16, 2018.