Saudi urges UN, aid workers to leave war zone in Yemen

Saudi Arabia has warned the UN and international aid agencies to withdraw all staff from northern Yemen amid ongoing attacks against the cities and towns in the area.

The short note recently sent by the Saudi Embassy in London said the warning was intended to “protect the international organizations and their employees” from the Saudi airstrikes.

Saudi Arabia has come under international criticism over the civilian death toll of its air campaign, along with a naval blockade that has limited food and other aid deliveries to parts of Yemen held by the Houthis. 

Abdallah al-Mouallimi, the Saudi ambassador to the UN, told Reuters that Riyadh issued the warning because it was “just concerned for the safety of the UN staff and their humanitarian agencies.”

“We want them to go away from areas that are obvious targets,” he said.

Responding the letter, UN official Stephen O’Brien rejected the request and said the humanitarian community would continue to deliver “life-saving assistance as per internationally recognized principles.”

The senior UN aid official further reminded Saudi Arabia of its obligations under international humanitarian laws to allow humanitarian access in Yemen. Saudi officials, however, insist the warning is legal.

Yemen has been under military attacks by Saudi Arabia since March of last year in a bid to bring the country’s fugitive former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a Riyadh ally, back to power.

A recent UN report verified that Saudi Arabia has been systematically targeting civilians with airstrikes throughout the war, documenting 119 sorties and warning they amount to crimes against humanity.

Saudi Arabia has US backing in the war, however, and is confident no UN Security Council measures will be taken against it. 

The air campaign has killed over 8,200 people, among them 2,236 children, and more than 16,000 others injured, taking a heavy toll on the country’s infrastructure and facilities, including schools and hospital.

Last month, a senior official with Doctors Without Borders said Saudi Arabia is targeting civilians in Yemen with “utter disregard” for international law with “the silent consent” of the West and the UN Security Council.   

"The Saudi-led coalition is waging a military campaign that treats civilians and civilian structures as legitimate military targets," MSF Executive Director in the US Jason Cone wrote in the TIME magazine. 

The war "is being fought with utter disregard for international humanitarian law—with the silent consent of the US, the UK, France, and other members of the UN Security Council," he said.

The US, the UK and France "actively support and supply weapons to the Saudi military," he added.

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