Local Editor
The Saudi-led coalition intensified its strikes on the Yemen port of Hodeidah, which could result in civilians getting trapped, the United Nations [UN] human rights office warned. This also threatens a humanitarian operation aimed at delivering vital supplies.
UN human rights spokesman Rupert Colville expressed concerns that the situation may resemble al-Mokha, where civilians were trapped in fighting earlier this month.
"Civilians were trapped during the fighting [in al-Mokha], there are real fears the situation will repeat itself in the port of Hodeidah where air strikes are apparently already intensifying," Colville told a Geneva news briefing, as quoted by Reuters.
The Saudi-led coalition, which began airstrikes in Yemen in March 2015, had long been accused of civilian casualties, an allegation which it had adamantly denied.
The coalition is allied with forces loyal to exiled former leader Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who fled to Saudi Arabia. The coalition had been armed by the US and UK.
It's not the first time the UN had expressed concern about the coalition's airstrikes.
It spoke out against the strikes in August, saying they were responsible for the majority of civilians killed in the country's conflict. It called for an international investigation to take place, stating that a national commission had failed to succeed in pursuing those responsible.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
