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UN chief condemns Yemen missile attacks on Saudi Arabia by Staff Writers United Nations, United States (AFP) March 26, 2018
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday strongly condemned missile attacks on Saudi Arabia from rebel-held territory in Yemen and said military escalation was not the solution to ending the three-year war. Saudi forces on Sunday intercepted seven missiles fired by Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels into Saudi Arabia, killing one person and wounding two others. Guterres "strongly condemns the launch late yesterday of a series of missiles claimed by the Huthis toward cities in Saudi Arabia, including Riyadh, as he does consistently with all attacks against civilians," said a UN statement. He called for "restraint amid mounting tensions and stresses that military escalation is not the solution." The UN chief is due to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at UN headquarters on Tuesday to discuss Yemen. The United Nations is making a fresh push for talks after Iran sent signals that it would be willing to help turn up the pressure on the Huthis to take part in negotiations, UN diplomats said. New UN envoy Martin Griffiths was in the rebel-held capital Sanaa this week for talks on kick-starting the political process, following a first round of meetings in Riyadh. About 10,000 Yemenis have been killed and 53,000 wounded since the coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015. On Sunday, the Huthis fired three missiles at Riyadh and four others at the southern cities of Khamis Mushait, Jizan and Najran. The Saudi-led coalition said the attacks all targeted populated areas. The United Nations has said Yemen is facing the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with 22.2 million people in need of aid, a growing risk of famine and a severe outbreak of cholera.
Yemen rebel attack on Saudi possible war crime: Amnesty "Launching indiscriminate attacks is prohibited by international humanitarian law and can constitute a war crime," said Amnesty's Samah Hadid. "A high death toll may have been averted, possibly due to the missiles being intercepted, but that doesn't let the Huthi armed group off the hook for this reckless and unlawful act," Hadid said in a statement. "These missiles cannot be precisely targeted at such distances, so their use in this manner unlawfully endangers civilians." Amnesty did not say it had independently documented evidence of the attacks. Saudi Arabia is at the helm of a military coalition that has fought alongside the Yemeni government against the Iran-backed Huthi rebels since 2015. The coalition said Saudi Arabia's air defence forces had intercepted seven Yemeni rebel missiles late Sunday night, with one Egyptian labourer reported killed by falling shrapnel in Riyadh. The rebels confirmed they had launched missiles at Riyadh as well as the southern cities of Khamis Mushait, Jizan and Najran. Both parties in the Yemen conflict have drawn harsh condemnation for failing to protect civilians in a war that has claimed nearly 10,000 lives and pushed the country to the brink of famine. Amnesty last week said Saudi Arabia and its allies could stand guilty of war crimes in Yemen, which is under partial blockade by the coalition. The Saudi-led alliance last year landed on a UN blacklist for the killing and maiming of children.
Saudi forces intercept seven Yemen rebel missiles, including over Riyadh Riyadh (AFP) March 26, 2018 Saudi forces intercepted seven Yemeni rebel missiles on Sunday, including over the capital Riyadh, in a deadly escalation on the eve of the third anniversary of the Saudi-led coalition's intervention in Yemen. One Egyptian national was killed and two others were wounded from falling shrapnel in Riyadh, authorities said, with residents reporting loud explosions and bright flashes in the sky shortly before midnight. The Iran-aligned Huthi rebels fired three missiles at Riyadh and four others at th ... read more
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