Ambassador Faisal bin Hassan Trad

Saudi Arabia’s permanent representative in Geneva says his country sent letters to the UN humanitarian agency chief calling on aid groups to “be careful” to avoid damage from airstrikes led by the Saudi-led coalition in war-torn Yemen.

Ambassador Faisal bin Hassan Trad cited one Saudi letter to OCHA chief Stephen O’Brien which said the coalition’s request for caution “in no way can be misinterpreted to indicate any hindrance to humanitarian access and the delivery of the humanitarian assistance in Yemen.”

Trad said: “We did not tell anyone to leave anyplace. We told them, ‘Please be careful. Do not be near … legitimate targets, military targets.’”

The Red Cross said on Saturday it had entered of Taiz for the first time since August, delivering three tons of life-saving medical supplies to four hospitals treating the wounded.

Taiz has been one of the hardest-fought fronts in a war in which local militias and government forces are seeking to fight their way back to Sanaa. Many residents of the city of 200,000, in the southwest of the country, say the Houthis have blocked aid from entering and bombed civilian targets.

“This is a breakthrough and we hope that today’s operation will be followed by many more to come,” Antoine Grand, head of the ICRC in Yemen, said in a statement.

Related articles across the web

• Syria Warns That Any Foreign Troops Would Be Sent Home In Coffins
• Gaza office of Red Cross closed down
• Siege Broken! Nibbul and Al-zahraa Almost Rat-free; Massive Victory for Dr. Assad and Syrian People
• As Yemen Bleeds UK Arms Profits Bury Human Rights
• Turkey, Saudi Arabia 'Indirectly Invaded' Syria Long Ago
• Saudi Arabia to invest in Ukraine
• Saudi Arabia's Intervention in Syria 'Would Plunge Region Into Chaos' - Veterans Today
• #AceFinanceNews - Saudi Arabia find their #Fiscal reserves being depleted - AFP - @AceFinanceNews
• Saudis provide cover for Turkey to start military operation in Syria
• Saudi Arabia ready to send ground troops to Syria, official says