UN fears for civilians as Saudi leads strike on Yemen port

The Saudi-led coalition has intensified airstrikes on the Yemen port of Al-Hudaydah, potentially trapping civilians and endangering a humanitarian operation to import vital supplies, the United Nations human rights office said today.

Read: UN seeks $2.1bn to save Yemen from famine

Yemeni government forces backed by Gulf Arab troops have secured the Red Sea coast city of Al-Mokha, held by Iran-allied Houthi fighters for two years, the United Arab Emirates news agency WAM reported on Tuesday, in a push that paves the way for an advance on the country’s main port city of Al-Hudaydah.

“Civilians were trapped during the fighting [in Al-Mokha], there are real fears the situation will repeat itself in the port of Al-Hudaydah where airstrikes are apparently already intensifying,” Rupert Colville, UN human rights spokesman, told a Geneva news briefing.