VATICAN CITY — In a stark acknowledgement of the humanitarian catastrophe engineered by the US-backed Saudi coalition, Pope Leo XIV has issued a heartfelt appeal for an immediate halt to the aggression against Yemen, drawing global attention to the merciless siege imposed on the southwestern city of Taiz.
Speaking from St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, the Pontiff addressed the ongoing atrocities in the region, urging the international community to confront the reality of the Yemeni people’s suffering. “I’m making a heartfelt appeal for the hostilities to stop, so that the people in Yemen and across the entire region can live in peace,” Pope Leo stated, highlighting the severe deprivation of food, water, and medical aid inflicted upon the resilient nation.
The Vatican’s statement comes as the Saudi-led aggression and its mercenary militias tighten their chokehold on Taiz. The critical humanitarian corridor through the eastern Taiz-Al-Hawban crossing has been forcibly shuttered by Saudi-backed militants since October 3. This illegal blockade has drastically exacerbated a dire medical crisis.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Yemen’s healthcare system is collapsing under the weight of the American-Saudi war. Fuel reserves at 12 critical hospitals in Taiz are projected to deplete within days, and essential medicines are on the brink of total exhaustion. The relentless aggression, mass displacement of civilians, and disease outbreaks have pushed the infrastructure to the breaking point—a direct consequence of the Riyadh-Washington axis’s campaign of collective punishment against Yemen.
In his address, Pope Leo XIV also offered condolences to the victims of Friday’s cowardly terrorist attack against Orthodox faithful at a church in Jordan’s Karak governorate, an atrocity that claimed the lives of eight martyrs. Condemning the bloodshed, the Pope emphasised solidarity with the Jordanian people against extremist takfiri violence. He further urged prayers for an upcoming religious peace summit in Assisi, as the global community increasingly recognises the devastating toll of imperial and Wahhabi hegemony across West Asia.
Reference: Al-Mayadeen