Hezbollah leader calls on Saudi Arabia to end war in Yemen

BEIRUT (AP) — The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah has called on Saudi Arabia to make a “courageous” decision and end the fighting in Yemen, saying the alleged killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey has tarnished the kingdom’s image to an unprecedented degree.

Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech in Beirut Friday that “the international cover” for the war in Yemen has begun to collapse.

“Saudi Arabia’s image worldwide is the worst in its history,” Nasrallah said, referring to the Khashoggi case.

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Saudi Arabia backs Yemen’s internationally recognized government and has since March 2015 led a coalition battling the country’s Iran-backed Shiite rebels, known as Houthis.

Yemen’s stalemated three-year war has killed over 10,000 people and devastated the country’s infrastructure. The Saudi-led coalition faces widespread international criticism over airstrikes that kill civilians.