Saudi Airstrikes Continue as UN Urges Yemen Ceasefire

Saudi Strikes Reported Near UN Compound in Sanaa

Jason Ditz 

Posted onDecember 5, 2017CategoriesNewsTagsSaudi Arabia, UN, Ymeen

Fighting on the ground in Yemen’s capital of Sanaa has slowed, and shelling has all but stopped after several days of intense violence. Things aren’t calm, however, as Saudi Arabian warplanes continue to pound the nation with their usual heavy pace.

This is a problem both because it is exacerbating ongoing tensions in Sanaa, but also because it is preventing humanitarian aid being delivered into the area around the capital, where a Saudi naval blockade has caused mass starvation and a huge medical crisis from shortages of insulin and other vital medicines.

Saudi strikes have been causing humanitarian problems in Yemen for a long time, but it’s getting worse since the UN pushed for a ceasefire in the area on Monday. Indeed, UN officials say that two different Saudi strikes have landed near the UN compound in Sanaa since the Monday statement.

The UN has reported 136,000 metric tons of food imported to Yemen recently, but that even with that an a limited resumption of commercial imports, the food is far insufficient. North Yemen alone has some 15 million people dependent on food imports, and only one port through which to import it.

http://news.antiwar.com/2017/12/05/saudi-airstrikes-continue-as-un-urges-yemen-ceasefire/