THE Red Cross and UN flew medical aid into Yemen's capital Friday after southern city Aden was battered by the heaviest night yet of Saudi-led airstrikes targeting Houthi rebels. The International Committee of the Red Cross said it dispatched an aircraft to Sanaa, its first aid shipment since the international campaign against Shiite rebels began last month. “This is the first ICRC plane to have landed in Sanaa. It is loaded with 16 ton of medical aid,” said Marie Claire Feghali, the organization's spokeswoman in Yemen. The United Nations also called for an immediate “humanitarian pause” of at least a few hours each day in Yemen to allow desperately needed aid to enter the conflict-ravaged country. Even as medical aid arrived in Sanaa, Brig. Gen. Ahmad Al-Asiri, spokesman of the coalition forces and advisor at the office of the minister of defense, said the Houthis and the militias supporting them are using several school premises, playgrounds and residential facilities to stock weapons and food supplies. Addressing the daily press briefing in Riyadh, Asiri said the militias were destroying these sites while retreating in the face of relentless coalition bombardment. “Their acts are aimed at damaging the infrastructure and harming the citizens,” he said. “One command building of Houthis in Saada was targeted on Thursday,” Asiri said. Meanwhile, imams and khateebs of the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah stressed in their Friday sermons the need for safeguarding the country in the wake of the threats posed by the Houthi militants. Sheikh Saud Al-Shuraim, imam and khateeb of the Grand Mosque, noted that Allah is protecting the land of the Two Holy Mosques as part of the Islamic nation sprawling between the West and East and as the Qiblah of Muslims, but not as a sectarian nation. While warning that the Kingdom is being targeted in its ideology, security and sanctity, he emphasized that protection of this land is an inevitable obligation. At the Prophet's Mosque, Sheikh Abdul Bari Al-Thubaiti said the ‘Decisive Storm' operation, launched in response to the plea for help by the Yemeni people, aims at realizing their aspirations. Separately, Grand Mufti of the Kingdom and Chairman of the Board of Senior Ulema Sheikh Abdulaziz Abdullah Al-Asheikh, in his sermon at Imam Turki Bin Abdullah Grand Mosque in downtown Riyadh, stressed the importance of compulsory military service for the youth so that they can protect the nation against those who are working against the interests of the Kingdom. Meanwhile, Pakistan's parliament rejected calls to join the anti-Houthi coalition, turning down longstanding ally Riyadh's request for troops, ships and warplanes. “Parliament of Pakistan... underscores the need for continued efforts by the government of Pakistan to find a peaceful resolution of the crisis,” it said. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged Yemen's warring factions to return to political talks, which were aimed at ending the country's slide into chaos since Saleh's 2012 ousting. “The last thing the region and our world need is more of the chaos and crimes we have seen in Libya and Syria,” Ban said ahead of a weekend trip to Qatar. He warned that the airstrikes and the Huthi offensive could have “deep and long-lasting regional repercussions”. Pakistani plane barred from Kingdom's airspace A Pakistani airplane was barred from entering Saudi airspace on Friday for not having the required documents allowing it into the Kingdom's skies. A Shaheen Air Flight was denied entry for failing to meet the safety standards set by the Saudi government, although the Pakistani carrier had reportedly applied for the necessary documents in advance but their request was rejected, Al Arabiya News reported. This is the second plane which was not allowed to enter the Kingdom's airspace in two days. On Thursday, an Iranian plane with 260 Umrah pilgrims was not allowed to enter the Kingdom because it did not have valid papers. The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said the safety of Saudi airspace remains a top priority and will not allow any violations of protocol or regulations. — Agencies
