Local Editor
British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has called on Saudi Arabia to end its devastating war against Yemen.
Hunt held talks with Saudi King Salman in the capital Riyadh on Monday, discussing the "latest developments in the region" in a meeting also attended by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir and Britain's ambassadors to Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
Hunt is also due to meet later with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a main proponent of the Saudi-led military aggression against Yemen.
The visit comes as the kingdom is already under fire over kicking off bloodshed in the impoverished country more than three years ago with a declared bid to remove the Houthi Ansarullah Movement from power and reinstate former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.
"The human cost of war in Yemen is incalculable: with millions displaced, famine and disease rife and years of bloodshed, the only solution is now a political decision to set aside arms and pursue peace," Hunt said in a statement ahead of the trip.
"So today I am traveling to the [Persian] Gulf to demand that all sides commit to this process," he added.
According to a new report by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, the Saudi-led war has so far claimed the lives of around 56,000 Yemenis.
The war has also taken a heavy toll on the country’s infrastructure, destroying hospitals, schools, and factories. The UN has already said that a record 22.2 million Yemenis are in dire need of food, including 8.4 million threatened by severe hunger.
According to the world body, Yemen is suffering from the most severe famine in more than 100 years.
A number of Western countries, the United States and Britain in particular, stand accused of being complicit in the ongoing aggression as they supply the Riyadh regime with advanced weapons and military equipment as well as logistical and intelligence assistance.
Saudi Arabia is also facing global criticism and potential sanctions over Khashoggi's killing inside the Saudi consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul on October 2.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
