Saudi-led coalition, UN to form safe corridors in Yemen

RIYADH (AA) - Saudi Arabia-led coalition on Monday announced the establishment of safe corridors between the Yemeni capital Sanaa and the country's western strategic Hudaydah province, according to Saudi media reports.

The coalition will establish “humanitarian corridors” between the two cities in cooperation with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the coalition’s spokesman Turki al-Maliki told reporters, the Saudi television news channel Al-Ekhbariya reported.

“The Iranian regime continues to violate international law and destabilize the security of the region and the world,” al-Maliki said.

Al-Maliki said that the coalition operations will continue against "suspicious ships that threaten international shipping in the Red Sea".

Yemen has been wracked by conflict since 2014, when Shia Houthi rebels overran much of the country.

The conflict escalated one year later when Saudi Arabia and its allies launched a wide-ranging military campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi gains in Yemen.

Riyadh accuses the rebel group of serving as a proxy force for Iran, Saudi Arabia’s arch-foe in the region.