The United Nations has expressed serious concern over the deadly missile strike on a girls' school in Iran, and warns the serious impact of the escalating regional tension over civilians.
Speaking at a regular briefing at UN headquarters on Monday, Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, said that the UN has seen the reporting on the attack on the girls' school and the horrendous deaths of the students.
As a number of U.S. officials have announced to carry out independent investigation, the UN looks forward to the sharing of related results, he added.
The UN is also increasingly concerned about the escalating conflict across the Middle East, and reiterates that all possible precautions must be taken to protect civilians from the impact of hostilities, he said.
"We continue raising the alarm over the humanitarian impact of escalating violence across parts of the Middle East, which is driving rising civilian casualties, damage to civilian infrastructure, and growing displacement of people," he said. Dujarric added that recent reports of attacks on energy facilities and desalination plants are particularly worrying, as they could pose serious environmental and public health risks.
The UN continues to call on all parties to respect international humanitarian law, protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and pursue diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the crisis, he said.
UN voices concern about deadly Iranian school strike, expects independent investigation
UN voices concern about deadly Iranian school strike, expects independent investigation
UN voices concern about deadly Iranian school strike, expects independent investigation
Yemen's Houthi group said that it had carried out multiple attacks on Saudi and Saudi-led coalition targets, while the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted a Houthi missile, and Yemeni government forces reported operations against the group on several fronts.
In a statement released early Thursday, the Houthis said they used a surface-to-air missile to hit a Saudi Typhoon fighter jet. The aircraft, they said, had taken off from Saudi Arabia's Taif Air Base and was hit over Yemen's Sa'adah Province. Saudi Arabia has not yet responded to the claim.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Houthis said they launched a large-scale attack using ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones against oil facilities of energy giant Saudi Aramco in Dhahran in eastern Saudi Arabia, as well as King Khalid International Airport and a Saudi Aramco refinery in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
The Houthis said in a separate statement released Wednesday evening that the group had fired one more ballistic missile at King Khalid International Airport and launched three ballistic missiles at Saudi-led coalition targets in southern Yemen.
Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said on Wednesday that they had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile fired toward Riyadh. Saudi Arabia's General Directorate of Civil Defense said in a statement on Wednesday that fragments from the intercepted missile fell in Riyadh, injuring one person.
Meanwhile, the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported that late on Wednesday the Saudi-led coalition carried out an airstrike on a residential building in the Al Maravi'ah area of Hodeidah province, which is under Houthi control. Early on Thursday, al-Masirah also reported that Yemen's capital, Sanaa, had come under Saudi attack.
According to a Houthi statement issued on Wednesday evening, the Saudi-led coalition launched 42 airstrikes and missile attacks on Houthi-controlled areas in the previous 24 hours. The Houthis said that Saudi attacks on islands in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait directly threatened the safety of maritime shipping routes.
Separately, Yemeni government forces said on Wednesday that they continued to strike Houthi targets and personnel on the eastern and southern fronts.
Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in 2015 in support of the Yemeni government.
Houthis, Saudi-led coalition report fresh military actions against each other
