Reuters: US Pressure on Saudi Arabia to Ease Yemen Blockade

Reuters reports, citing two news sources, that the US Secretary of State had requested Saudi Arabia to reduce its blockade on Yemen. Recently, Saudi Arabia announced it would allow humanitarian flights to the ports of Hodeidah and Sanaa. It is unclear whether Washington's pressure led Riyadh to permit the flights, but the request made by Rex Tillerson in a conversation with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is part of this month's efforts to change Saudi Arabia's harsh policies. One unnamed source in conversation with Reuters stated that the US Secretary of State had a 45-minute phone conversation with Mohammed bin Salman this week, focusing on facilitating the blockade process. R.C. Hammond, a senior advisor to Tillerson, confirmed that a conversation took place and that the Secretary of State has raised this request with the Saudis several times over the past months. The Saudi-led coalition announced that it would prevent humanitarian flights to northern Yemen, controlled by Houthi rebels, following a missile launch by the Houthis towards Riyadh. Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of being involved in the missile launch, with Riyadh officials stating that this act is akin to a 'declaration of war' against the Saudi kingdom. Tehran has denied these accusations. The missile launched from Yemen, which was intercepted near Riyadh, had the longest range among the missiles launched so far. Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, shortly after the blockade began, wrote to the Saudi representative calling for its complete end and the reopening of all Yemeni ports and airports. The European Union also called for the facilitation of aid deliveries and, along with the UN, described the opening of several crossings as 'a step in the right direction.' The International Red Cross states that 2.5 million residents of densely populated Yemeni cities lack access to clean drinking water. The head of the World Food Programme in Yemen has also stated that the continued blockade and the failure to deliver food supplies to those in need have put millions of citizens at greater risk of death. The Houthi rebels, supported by Iranian officials, seized the presidential palace in Sanaa in January 2015. As a result of their uprising and their allies among supporters of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi was forced to leave Sanaa, go to Aden, and then to Saudi Arabia. Mr. Hadi and his government still hold official representation of their country at the UN. In the spring of 2015, Saudi Arabia formed a coalition and entered the Yemeni battles to restore power to Hadi. According to human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, civilian deaths in the Yemeni battles due to airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition and retaliatory attacks by the Houthis and their opponents provide evidence of 'war crimes.' International organizations have accused the Houthis of recruiting children for combat and guarding operations. The UN has also accused the Saudi-led coalition on several occasions of blocking the transfer of aid shipments to Yemen. This international body states that since the Saudi-led coalition entered the Yemeni battles, at least ten thousand people have lost their lives.