Russia Calls for Pause in Yemen Airstrikes to Provide Humanitarian Aid

According to a source in a Western delegation, Russia on Saturday presented a draft resolution to the UN Security Council, calling for a humanitarian pause in the Saudi-led airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) – Russia on Saturday presented a draft resolution to the UN Security Council, calling for a humanitarian pause in the Saudi-led airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen, a source in a Western delegation said.

The document was distributed Saturday during a UN Security Council's extraordinary session in New York, the source told RIA Novosti. The meeting was called by Moscow amid reports that escalating hostilities in Yemen have been claiming civilian lives.

Earlier on Saturday, the Red Cross, an international aid agency, urged to halt hostilities in Yemen for 24 hours to allow for help to be delivered to people in the conflict-torn country.

Yemeni population has been trapped in a confrontation between Houthi insurgents and loyalists of Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who is believed to be outside the country.

The launch of a Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen on March 25 saw the death toll among the Yemeni population sharply escalate. Some 519 people, including 90 children, have been killed and about 1,700 injured in Yemen in the past two weeks, UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said Friday.