The International Committee of the Red Cross warned Tuesday that hostilities affecting Yemen and Saudi Arabia risked expanding the Middle East conflict, calling for urgent de-escalation.
Yemen's Houthis said Saudi Arabia hit back with a series of strikes on Tuesday after the Iran-backed rebels targeted oil facilities and other sites, wounding dozens, in their heaviest attack in years.
The rapid round of strikes and counter-strikes follows the unravelling of a four-year truce in July, months into the Middle East war between the United States and Iran.
ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said in a statement that "urgent steps" were needed to de-escalate the hostilities.
"The recent escalation of hostilities in the Middle East affecting Yemen and Saudi Arabia risks a further expansion of conflict in the region that, if not contained, could worsen the already devastating humanitarian situation faced by millions of people," she warned.
"If the fighting continues, we fear it will lead to more deaths and injuries, population displacement and a potentially catastrophic disruption of essential services and infrastructure such as health care, water, fuel and electricity."
Spoljaric insisted that "concrete steps must, at all times, be taken to protect civilians and essential infrastructure".
She said her organisation was engaging "with the parties on the importance of respecting international humanitarian law and on other humanitarian issues".
She stressed though that while humanitarian action was "critical to responding to the consequences of conflict", it could "never replace respect for international humanitarian law and political commitment to de-escalate".
| Buy Advertising | About Us | Editorial & Other Enquiries | Privacy statement |
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, is Copyright 1995-2026 Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principles for news reporting and research purposes. |
