Local Editor
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday called for "a prompt and impartial investigation" into the Saturday airstrike on a market in Yemen that killed at least 32 civilians.
In a statement issued here by his spokesman, Ban "strongly condemns the apparent airstrike" on Khaleq market in Nehm district in northeastern Sanaa, whose death toll was among the highest from a single bombing since September 2015.
The bombardment, carried out by the Saudi-led Arab coalition, also left at least 41 others injured. Other reports put the death toll around 45.
"The secretary-general is concerned about the continuing intense airstrikes and ground fighting in Yemen despite his repeated calls for a cessation of hostilities," the statement said.
The secretary-general expressed his sincere condolences and sympathies to the families of the victims, said the statement.
"The secretary-general reminds all parties to the conflict of the utmost necessity to fully respect their obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law, which prohibits attacks directed against civilians and civilian objects, including populated markets," the statement said.
"The secretary-general stresses that such attacks are considered serious violations of international humanitarian law," it added.
Meanwhile, the statement said that "the secretary-general reiterates his call on all parties to the conflict in Yemen to engage in good faith with his special envoy for Yemen in order to agree on a cessation of hostilities as soon as possible and to convene a new round of peace talks," it added, referring to Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, who has been engaged in painstaking efforts to mediate a political solution to the current Yemeni conflict.
Yemen has been under military attacks by Saudi Arabia since March 26. The Saudi military strikes were launched with the aim of undermining Ansarullah and bringing fugitive former president of Yemen, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, back to power.
More than 8,300 people have been killed and over 16,000 others injured since the Saudi aerial aggression began. The Saudi war has also taken a heavy toll on Yemen’s facilities and infrastructure.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
