SANAA —
Yemen's Huthi rebels said
Tuesday they have allowed the temporary resumption of
UN aid flights into the
capital Sanaa, a week after a halt due to Saudi-led coalition air strikes.
اضافة اعلان
"The civil aviation authority announces the
resumption of UN and other organization flights into Sanaa airport on a
temporary basis," the rebel-run Al-Masirah television reported.
"The (rebel administration's) foreign ministry was
contacted to notify the UN and all international organizations that Sanaa
airport was ready to receive flights."
Yemen has been wracked by civil war since 2014 pitting the
government — supported by the Saudi-led coalition — against the Iran-backed
Huthis who control much of the north.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed, in what the
UN has described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
Flights into the rebel-held capital have been largely
halted by a Saudi-led blockade since August 2016, but there have been
exemptions for aid flights that are a key lifeline for the population.
The Huthi rebels had said UN aid flights into
Sanaa had
been halted by Saudi-led air strikes last week but the coalition said the
airport had already been closed two days earlier and blamed the insurgents.
Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said Sunday the Huthis
were "militarizing" Sanaa airport and using it as a "main center
for launching ballistic missiles and drones" towards the kingdom.
He also accused Iran and
Lebanon's Hezbollah group of
helping the Huthis launch missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia, where two people
were killed last week.
No guarantees
On Saturday, the coalition launched what it called a
"large-scale" military operation against the Huthis after the fatal
rebel attack.
The coalition raids killed three civilians, including a
child and a woman, Yemeni medics told AFP.
The coalition maintains its operations are carried out in
accordance with international humanitarian law and has repeatedly accused the
Huthis of using civilians as human shields.
UN special envoy
Hans Grundberg said the uptick in
fighting "undermines the prospects of reaching a sustainable political
settlement to end the conflict in Yemen."
"The escalation in recent weeks is among the worst we
have seen in Yemen for years and the threat to civilian lives is
increasing," Grundberg said.
He renewed a longstanding UN call for Sanaa airport
to reopen permanently for commercial as well as humanitarian flights.
"Any targeting of civilians and civilian objects as
well as indiscriminate attacks by any actor is a flagrant violation of
international humanitarian law and must stop immediately," the UN envoy
said.
Saudi Arabia has long accused
Iran of supplying the Huthis
with sophisticated weapons and its Hezbollah proxy of training the insurgents.
Tehran denies the charges, while Hezbollah on Monday
dismissed Saudi charges as "ridiculous".
The US Navy said last week it seized 1,400 AK-47 rifles
and ammunition from a fishing boat it claimed was smuggling weapons from Iran
to the Huthis.
The Huthis on Tuesday accused the coalition of preventing
the entry of "communication and navigation devices ... into Sanaa airport
to replace the old ones".
"The UN and international organizations have been
informed that the long-term operation of these devices are not guaranteed,
given how old they are," they added.
The rebels also warned they will "hold the UN and
international organizations responsible for landing and takeoff operations in
the event of a sudden device failure".
The Iran-backed rebels have repeatedly launched missile
and drone strikes against neighboring Saudi Arabia, targeting the kingdom's
airports and oil infrastructure.
While the UN and US are pushing for an end to the war, the
Huthis have demanded an end to the coalition blockade of Sanaa airport before
any ceasefire or negotiations.
The UN estimates Yemen's war will have claimed 377,000
lives by the end of the year through both direct and indirect impacts.
More than 80 percent of Yemen's population of about 30
million is dependent on humanitarian aid.
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