Critics of Saudi Arabia’s heavy maneuvering have accused the kingdom of firing on already wounded Lebanon.
“When a minister in Lebanon says something vaguely critical of Saudi Arabia, they overreact and engage in collective punishment because Lebanon is weak and poor and it’s easy to kick a horse when it’s on the ground,” Karim Traboulsi, editor-in-chief of The New Arab, a pan-Arab publication, wrote on Facebook. “I hope Lebanon will become free and independent in my life, as dignity is the most precious thing.”
Criticisms similar to those voiced by Mr Kordahi have also come from Western politicians and advocacy groups accusing Saudi Arabia of causing thousands of civilian casualties, indiscriminately bombing civilian targets and prolonging a war that has plunged Yemen to the brink of starvation. , destroyed its infrastructure and destroyed its economy.
A September UN report accuses both sides of the war – a Saudi-led coalition backed by US military aid, and the Houthi rebels backed by Iran – z violation of international law by killing civilians. It said at least 18,000 Yemeni civilians had been killed or wounded in coalition airstrikes since 2015, while Houthis shelled residential neighborhoods, displaced Yemeni camps, squares and the airport.
With President Biden, pressure has increased on Saudi Arabia to end the war stopping U.S. military aid February in the coalition. But the Houthis are rebels rejected the offer of a truce from the Saudis earlier this year, and hostilities continued, most recently focusing on an area called Marib.
The death toll rose again on Saturday, with at least nine people killed and at least 29 injured in a car bomb blast at Aden airport in Yemen, a health ministry official said, asking not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Hwaida Saad and Asmaa al-Omar contributed reports from Beirut, Lebanon, and Shuaib al-Mosawa from Sanaa, Yemen.