18th January, 2022
By Cecilia Ologunagba
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned the attacks on Abu Dhabi’s International Airport and the nearby Musaffah industrial area.
According to reports, several civilian casualties were recorded and the Yemen-based Houthi rebel group, formally known as Ansar Allah has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
In a statement, Guterres said that attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure were prohibited by international humanitarian law.
Reports have it that the drone attack targeting an oil facility in the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) killed three people with the one at the city’s international airport sparking a fire.
Several people were also wounded, reportedly suffering minor to moderate injuries.
He also called on all parties involved in Yemen’s nearly six-year conflict, to exercise maximum restraint and prevent any escalation amid heightened tensions in the region.
“There is no military solution to the conflict in Yemen,” he reiterated, as the UN has noted since the beginning of the war in 2015.
In that year, fighting intensified between a Saudi-led coalition backing the internationally-recognised Government – which includes the UAE – based in the south, and the Houthi armed movement, which still controls the capital Sana’a.
Guterres also urged the parties to engage “constructively and without preconditions” with his Special Envoy, Hans Grundberg, and his mediation efforts to advance the political process and reach a comprehensive negotiated settlement to end the conflict.
Meanwhile, the special envoy had told the Security Council that “genuine political will, responsible leadership and adherence to the interest of the entire population was needed” to end the fighting and forge a lasting peace.
NAN