UNITED NATIONS, June 14 (Xinhua) -- UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide Adama Dieng expressed grave concern over the potentially disastrous impact on civilians of the military offensive against the Yemeni port of Hudaydah.
The offensive was launched on Wednesday by pro-government forces backed by Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE), against Houthi fighters who have been holding the port.
Dieng said Yemen is considered to be the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with 10.4 million people at risk of famine
He stressed Hudaydah is the entry point for 70 percent of humanitarian aid, and that some 600,000 civilians are living in and around the port.
Closing the port "for any length of time" could have a "disastrous impact" on the ability of humanitarian agencies to deliver assistance to a population that desperately needs it, he warned.
particularly, Dieng pointed out the first test of a Security Council resolution against starvation as a warfare method is taking place in Yemen, referring to Resolution 2417 adopted on May 24.
"The Yemeni port of Hudaydah is a lifeline for the delivery of aid and the Coalition's air strikes can kill many more people over time through famine and hunger when damaging such civilian infrastructure," he said.
Dieng expressed full support to the call by the Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, for all parties to the conflict to exercise restraint and to find a political solution to the conflict, stressing that there can be no military solution.
The special adviser called for accountability for alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law committed during the conflict in Yemen.
Also on Thursday, the Security Council asked the ports of Hudaydah and Saleef, also in Yemen, to remain open, despite the military action.
"They (The members of the Security Council) were united in their deep concerns about the risks to the humanitarian situation, and reiterated their call for the ports of Hudaydah and Saleef to be kept open," Russian ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia, who is president of the council for June, said.
The Security Council has recently been in consultations on the situation over Hudaydah.
