UAE accuses UN official of bias

The UAE, the main partner in the coalition fighting Al Houthis, on Friday accused Kamal Al Jandbui, the head of a UN experts team for Yemen, of bias over his recent media remarks.

“Kamal Al Jandbui’s attack in the Qatari media on Saudi Arabia and UAE is evidence of non-professionalism,” UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Anwar Gargash said in a tweet.

“Accusations levelled by Al Jandbui emphasise anew the politicisation of the [Yemen] file as it was obvious in the absence of balance in its report and flawed methodology,” he added.

In an August report, UN experts accused the coalition of alleged war crimes. The alliance dismissed the report as inaccurate and biased.

Yemen’s Iran-allied Al Houthi militants on Friday shelled a refugee camp near the coastal city of Hodeida, causing casualties, Al Arabiya reported.

At least one woman and a large number of people were injured in the camp in the district of Al Khukha south of Hodeida after three shells fired by Al Houthis hit the site, the television added.

The camp is run by the Saudi King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre, which condemned the attack as a “heinous crime.”

The centre urged in a statement the UN to stand firmly against “this crime against humanity”, accusing Al Houthis of repeated “irresponsible” acts against relief aid, including looting.

“The UN should shoulder its humanitarian and social responsibilities against these Al Houthi crimes,” the centre said.

The battle for Hodeida has forced thousands of residents to flee to safer areas around the western city.

Hodeida is strategically important because it has a harbour, which is a lifeline for millions of Yemenis, as most of the commercial imports and relief supplies enter through it to the country.

In recent weeks, government forces, supported by the Saudi-led coalition, stepped up attacks near the rebel-controlled Hodeida after Al Houthis failed to appear in Switzerland for UN-sponsored peace talks last month.

Government loyalists have since made progress in their plan to liberate the Red Sea city from the Iran-allied extremists.

The coalition accuses Al Houthis of taking advantage of their control of Hodeida port to obtain weapons from their Iranian patrons as well as confiscate aid intended for Yemenis in order to sustain their war effort.

Friday’s attack comes amid renewed efforts by UN special envoy Martin Griffiths to revive Yemen’s peace process. The former British diplomat said he hopes a new round of peace talks will take place in November.

Yemen has been roiled by war since late 2014 when Al Houthis deposed the internationally recognised government .

In March 2015, the coalition intervened in Yemen at a request from the government against Al Houthis after the militants advanced on the southern city of Aden, the temporary capital of the country after their takeover of the capital Sana’a.