Iranian Medical Academy Urges UN Action on Saudi Crimes in Yemen

In the letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Dr. Seyed Alireza Marandi voiced concern over the international organization’s failure to protect Yemenis against the ongoing Saudi aggression.

The letter came a week after the Saudi-led air raid on a hospital in Yemen's Red Sea port city of Hudaydah killed at least 55, including women and children, and wounded 124 otehrs.

What follows is Dr. Marandi’s letter to Guterres:

“United Nations Secretary General

His Excellency, António Guterres,

Excellency,

This letter follows my previous correspondence about the horrific atrocities committed by the Saudi regime against the innocent people of Yemen during the last few years. These include the indiscriminate bombing of civilian men, women and children, and the sanctioning and banning of necessities such as food and medicine from entering the country. Despite these undisputed attacks, western human rights organizations and media are usually silent on the actions of the Saudi regime and its international protectors. This simply encourages them to continue believing they are beyond the law and accepted standards of human decency. Unfortunately, last week, we witnessed another grievous act: the bombing of a hospital in Yemen where defenseless civilians were receiving medical treatment. The Iranian Academy of Medical Sciences condemns this most recent crime and expects the Secretary-General to act immediately to prevent further attacks of this kind. Any delay in acting will allow the Saudi regime and its supporters to continue with their atrocities and effectively replace any remaining notion of human rights and decency, with the law of the jungle. History will not judge the United Nations organization kindly for its continued failure to act in protecting the citizens of Yemen against ongoing Saudi aggression and the forced starvation of a proud nation.

Yours sincerely,

Seyed Alireza Marandi, M.D., President Academy of Medical Sciences of the Islamic Republic of Iran”

In the most recent development in Yemen, warplanes of the Saudi-led military coalition on Thursday launched an airstrike on a bus carrying children in Yemen’s northwestern province of Sa’adah, killing at least 39 civilians and injuring more than 50 others.

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the bus was carrying children.

Johannes Bruwer, head of an ICRC delegation in Yemen, said in a tweet that most of the victims were under the age of 10.

ICRC said one of the hospitals it supports in the city of Sa'adah has "received dozens of dead and wounded" from the attack.

People of Yemen have been under massive attacks by the Saudi-led coalition for more than three years. Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies have been launching deadly airstrikes against Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement in an attempt to restore power to fugitive former president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.

The aggression has killed over 16,000 people and taken a heavy toll on the country's facilities and infrastructure, destroying many hospitals, schools, and factories. The offensive has, however, achieved none of its goals