Local Editor
Saudi Arabian diplomats have devoted enormous time and effort in recent days to emphasizing how much aid their kingdom has given to the war-ravaged civilians of Yemen.
In at least three events last week at the United Nations, the Saudis stressed that they are, by far, the top donors of food, medicine, and money to their neighbor. Yemen has been upended for more than two years by conflict between Houthi revolutionaries and a Saudi-led military coalition.
But critics contend that the kingdom’s public relations campaign comes as the UN secretary-general is weighing a decision that could embarrass Saudi Arabia: whether to put it on a list of countries that kill and maim children in war.
The secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, has been reviewing an annual report, called “Children and Armed Conflict,” which he is expected to release soon. In past years, the report has included an annex that lists armies deemed responsible for killing and injuring children.
Focus on that decision has been further intensified by reports in recent days of Saudi bombings that killed civilians in Yemen, combined with alarm over famine and disease in the country. The United Nations has described the situation as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
Saudi Arabia has been leading a destructive military campaign against Yemen since March 2015 to reinstate former president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi and crush the Houthi movement.
The campaign has seriously damaged the country’s infrastructure. Local Yemeni sources have put the death toll from the Saudi war at over 12,000, including many women and children.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
