RIYADH – A Saudi-led coalition battling in Yemen on Tuesday said it forceda Red Cross plane to land in southern Saudi Arabia after it veered offcourse to fly over a military operation area in Yemen.
The plane heading to Djibouti changed its course after taking off fromYemen s rebel-held capital Sanaa, the coalition said in a statementpublished by the official Saudi Press Agency.
“Coalition forces communicated with the aircraft on the internationaldistress frequency… but the crew did not respond,” a coalition spokesmansaid.
“Commands were given to redirect the aircraft away from the operations zonebut to no avail. The aircraft was forced to land in Jizan” in the south ofthe kingdom.
The coalition accused the crew of air space violation and jeopardising thesafety of four passengers onboard.
The International Committee of the Red Cross later said the plane headedfrom Sanaa to Djibouti had made “an unscheduled stop” in Jizan “due totechnical issues”.
“The issue was resolved and the plane has landed in Djibouti this evening,”it said in a statement, adding that the ICRC was “investigating”.
The humanitarian agency last month pulled 71 of its international staffersfrom Yemen over rising security threats, following the killing of aLebanese employee in southern Taez city in April.
Those withdrawn from Yemen represent more than half of the ICRC sinternational staff in the country.
The ICRC said that the decision would lead to the “crippling” of itslife-saving work in the war-ravaged country, which includes emergencymedical work and food assistance.
The ICRC is known for its unrelenting commitment to neutrality, seeking toengage all parties to armed conflicts including extremists like the IslamicState group while carrying out humanitarian work.
The conflict between Iran-backed Huthi rebels and Yemen s government,allied with Saudi Arabia, has claimed nearly 10,000 lives since 2015.
Yemen s multi-faceted conflict has pushed the impoverished country to thebrink of famine, triggering what the United Nations says is the world sworst humanitarian crisis. – APP/AFP