Local Editor

The European Parliament condemned the Saudi-led airstrikes and the naval blockade on Yemen which it said have produced conditions more conducive to the expansion of extremist organizations such as "so-called "Daesh" ["ISIL"] and al-Qaeda, as it said in a statement.

It condemned "in the strongest possible terms the terrorist attacks carried out by ["]IS[IL"]/["]Daesh["] against...mosques in Sanaa and Saada [in Yemen], which killed and wounded hundreds of people, together with the spread of the extreme sectarian ideology underpinning these criminal acts".

In the statement, the European Parliament also said that: "[It] condemns the air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition and the naval blockade it has imposed on Yemen, which have led to thousands of deaths, have further destabilised Yemen, have created conditions more conducive to the expansion of terrorist and extremist organisations such as ["]IS[IL"]/["]Daesh["] and AQAP, and have exacerbated an already critical humanitarian situation". 

It expressed "grave alarm at the rapidly deteriorating political, security and humanitarian situation in Yemen", and urged "the Saudi Arabian led coalition to lift the naval blockade of Yemen immediately, allowing the full resumption of commercial imports to Yemeni ports in order to avoid even more serious hunger and shortages, in particular of food, fuel and medical supplies".

It also expressed "its deep concern about the 13 million people in Yemen who face a food security crisis and the 9.4 million who have little or no access to water".

The Parliament urged to "allow desperately needed aid to be delivered to the population, as a first step towards a lasting ceasefire which should prepare the ground for a negotiated political solution".

The European Parliament also recalled that, "Arbitrarily denying humanitarian access and depriving civilians of objects indispensable to their survival constitute a violation of international humanitarian law".