UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed deep concern over the rising number of civilian casualties in Yemen amid deadly Saudi airstrikes against the impoverished country, calling for an end to the conflict.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Ban called on all parties to the Yemeni conflict “to take all feasible precautions to avoid loss of civilian life and damage to civilian objects.”
At least 32 Yemenis were killed in Saudi airstrikes on various residential locations throughout the capital Sanaa Tuesday. A school was also hit in the strikes.
Ban also urged all Yemeni warring factions “to work with his Special Envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, in the search for a durable political solution.”
The UN chief further welcomed the recent release of six foreign nationals by Yemen’s Houthi militants, saying “this measure represents a concrete and positive step in efforts to lessen tensions in the region and ease the path to a peaceful settlement to the conflict in Yemen.”
The hostages, including two Americans, three Saudis and a British citizen, were released on Sunday and later flown from Sana’a, to neighboring Oman.
