Red Cross calls for urgent de-escalation in Middle East

The long-running Yemeni civil war has created a deeply entrenched humanitarian crisis in the impoverished country. (EPA Images pic) GENEVA: The Red Cross called Tuesday for urgent de-escalation in the Middle East, warning that further fighting would be disastrous for tens of millions of civilians.

Yemen's civil war – in which a Saudi-led military coalition supports the government against the Iran-backed Houthis – reignited in July, months into the wider regional conflict that has roiled energy markets and plunged the Middle East into crisis.

"Civilians are paying an unacceptable price as a result of military operations in the Middle East," said Mirjana Spoljaric, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The Houthis quickly began targeting Saudi oil facilities, tankers and transport hubs, including a string of lethal strikes on Riyadh's airport, rocking the world's top oil exporter.

"The deaths, injuries and destruction in Saudi Arabia in recent days are yet another example of the devastating toll that hostilities are taking on civilians," Spoljaric said in a statement.

"In Yemen, the scale of death, displacement and damage to civilian infrastructure, including in Aden and Sana'a, is mounting at an alarming rate. Across the Middle East, civilian infrastructure has repeatedly been hit, and lives have been lost," the ICRC chief added.

Spoljaric said civilians and civilian objects had to be spared from attack, while parties to conflict must, at all times, distinguish between civilians, civilian objects and military targets.

Strikes on ports, airports and essential infrastructure risk severe consequences for communities who rely on them, she added.

"A further intensification of hostilities would be disastrous for tens of millions of people. Urgent efforts must be made to de-escalate and protect civilians from further harm," Spoljaric said.

The long-running Yemeni civil war has created a deeply entrenched humanitarian crisis in the impoverished country.

The Geneva-based ICRC acts as the guardians of international humanitarian law, the set of rules which seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict.

It protects people who are not or are no longer participating in hostilities and restricts the means and methods of warfare.