As the Saudi-led coalition continues its offensive in Yemen, thousands in Sanaa took to the streets in protest against indiscriminate shelling that has claimed civilian lives.
Frustration, fury and raw anger prompted thousands of Yemenis to flood the streets of the Yemeni capital following another wave of Friday morning Saudi-led airstrikes. People protested against Saudi Arabia’s intervention in Yemen and the Saudi-led air campaign that has seen hundreds killed and thousands injured since the offensive began in late March, RT said in a report.
Thousands of Yemenis gathered to say ‘enough’ to what they see as a geopolitical conflict that is costing them lives. Protesters chanted slogans against Saudi Arabia, as well as its allies including the United State and Israel. The rally is the second in the past two weeks and was organized by the Supreme Revolutionary Council of Yemen.
Just hours before the Friday rally, Saudi warplanes targeted multiple targets around Sanaa, leaving dozens of civilians dead and injured in al-Sha’ab neighborhood and Sawan district, according to medical sources.
Saudis Killed in Border Clashes
Three Saudi troops and several Houthi forces were killed in the most dramatic border incident between the two sides since Saudi Arabia launched an intense air campaign against the Houthis just over a month ago. It also brought to 11 the number of Saudi soldiers killed so far in border skirmishes during the air campaign.
Houthis, who control much of northern Yemen including the capital Sanaa - have been fighting forces linked to the government for several months.
Saudi Arabia and other Arab states have been carrying out airstrikes over the last month, with the declared aim of restoring fugitive president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi. Meanwhile aid groups say a lack of fuel is threatening their operations there.
Another sources also reported on Friday that pro-Hadi forces assumed control over “most” of Aden’s airport amid ongoing clashes with Houthis. “Pro-Hadi fighters are now in control of most of Aden airport facilities,” the source, requesting anonymity, told The Anadolu Agency on Friday.
Russia Assails West Over Yemen
Russia’s envoy to the UN criticized western and Arab members of the UN Security Council on Friday for paying “lip service” to humanitarian needs in Yemen after the council was unable to agree on the Russian-drafted call for ceasefire.
“If you cannot agree to a motherhood and apple pie statement what can you agree on,” Vitaly Churkin said. “They pay lip service, they say ‘things are very bad, but what can we do about it’.”
Churkin said members were consulting with their capitals over the statement but he was skeptical about any agreement.
The UNSC failed Friday to back a Russian appeal for an immediate ceasefire or humanitarian pauses in war-torn Yemen, where critical fuel shortages threatened relief efforts and doctors described desperate scenes.
Russia requested an urgent meeting of the 15-member council as the Saudi-led air war against Houthi forces entered a sixth week, crippling deliveries of fuel, food and medicine.
“We continue to believe that our call for humanitarian pauses is very relevant. A lot of hospitals, schools, mosques, even the building in which the UN personnel lived in Sanaa, were destroyed on April 21,” he said.
The permanent representative stressed that the US supported the coalition bombing of Yemen and thus, “the United States should bear the responsibility for the humanitarian consequences, the responsibility for the inviolability of diplomatic facilities.”
Calling the situation on the ground “extremely complex,” Churkin stressed the need for an urgent dialogue to solve the conflict in Yemen. He said the sides were “very close to an agreement,” but negotiations broke down when a new wave of Saudi-led strikes targeted Houthi positions.
