UN Rights Chief cautions Saudis against attacking Yemen’s main port

The United Nations human rights chief expressed deep concern over a possible Saudi-led attack on Yemen’s key port of al-Hodaida.

"The UN is concerned about the humanitarian repercussions of such an attack in terms of inflaming the humanitarian crisis even further, let alone our concerns about loss of civilian life were there to be a large-scale attack on port," Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein told a news conference in Geneva, Al Waght reported.

He added that, the UN is continuing to receive signals that the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen could attack the key port of al-Hodaida, causing humanitarian suffering and loss of life.

Last week, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told a donor conference in Geneva that, "Alarming rumors are mounting that there are preparations underway to storm al-Hodaida and for a further offensive against Sana’a. This should be prevented. The scale of this awful Yemenite tragedy will significantly increase."  Gatilov also stressed the need to end the conflict in Yemen so as to ease the humanitarian situation.

The Saudi regime claims that al-Hodaida Port, a life line for war-battered Yemenis, is being used to smuggle weapons, an assertion which has been rejected by Yemenis who blame the so-called Saudi-led coalition of making baseless allegations.
Saudi Arabia launched brutal aggression against its southern neighbor on 27 March 2015 in a bid to restore power to the resigned and fugitive president who fled to Riyadh after Yemeni people's uprising in 2015.

Western countries especially the US and Britain are among key suppliers of weapons used by the Saudi regime to commit atrocities and war crimes in Yemen.

Over 13,100 Yemenis, mostly civilians including women and children, have been martyred during the ongoing Saudi-led aggression on Yemen. The military aggression has also taken a heavy toll on Yemen’s facilities and infrastructure, destroying many hospitals, schools, mosques and factories.

EA