UN chief condemns military escalation in Yemen

ANKARA

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has strongly condemned the ongoing military escalation between Houthi rebels and the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

“Guterres strongly condemns recent escalation of conflict in Yemen, including attacks in Saudi Arabia and Sanaa," his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

Dujarric said airstrikes in Yemen damaged "UN staff residential compound in Sanaa" and targeted the Hudaydah port, which "provides humanitarian lifeline for the Yemeni population."

The UN spokesperson called on the fighting parties in Yemen "to exercise maximum restraint, immediately deescalate, cease hostilities and to engage constructively [...] with his Special Envoy to reduce violence" and to end conflict in Yemen.

On Friday, Houthi rebels launched drone and missile attacks on vital energy facilities in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi-led coalition responded by launching a military operation against Houthi locations in Sanaa and Hudaydah.

The Saudi-led coalition has been fighting Houthis since 2015, one year after the Iran-aligned rebels overran much of Yemen, including Sanaa.

The eight-year conflict has created one of the world's worst man-made humanitarian crises, with nearly 80% of the country, or about 30 million people, in need of humanitarian assistance and protection and more than 13 million are in danger of starvation, according to UN estimates.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar