Avert Yemen 'catastrophe'
British Prime Minister Theresa May has implored Saudi leaders to ease a blockade on war-torn Yemen to "avert a humanitarian catastrophe", her office said yesterday, echoing urgent appeals from the United Nations.
A Saudi-led coalition battling Iran-backed Huthi rebels has only partially lifted a crippling aid blockade on Yemen, which was imposed earlier this month in response to a missile fired by the Huthis that was intercepted near Riyadh airport.
May met both Saudi King Salman and powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman late on Wednesday on the second leg of her Middle East tour, with the worsening crisis in Yemen topping her agenda.
"The prime minister made clear that the flow of commercial supplies on which the country (Yemen) depends must be resumed if we are to avert a humanitarian catastrophe," May's office said.
Saudi Arabia is Britain's largest trading partner in the Middle East, and London has signed off on more than £3.3 billion ($4.4 billion/3.7 billion euros) worth of arms sales to Riyadh since March 2015.
That was the month that Riyadh launched its intervention against the Yemeni rebels who still control the capital Sanaa and much of the north of the country.
The war has since killed around 8,600 people, while a further 2,000 have died of cholera.
UN officials say Yemen could face the world's largest famine in decades unless the crippling blockade is lifted.
The Saudi-led coalition, which began its military intervention in Yemen in 2015, has accused Iran of supplying ballistic missiles to the rebels. Tehran denies the charge.
Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia and Iran, the predominant Shia power, have a long-standing rivalry based as much in geostrategic interests as religious differences.
Comments