The United Nations top human rights official called Thursday for an global inquiry into possible war crimes and other accusations of abuses in Yemen.
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Kerry spoke of the “staggering” humanitarian impact of the war and announced an additional $189 million in aid in response to the crisis. Some 3 million people have also been displaced inside the Arab world’s poorest country.
Speaking at a press conference in Jiddah, Mr Kerry said: “The bloodshed, I think most would agree, has simply gone on for too long”.
Kerry said Washington was “deeply troubled” by rebel attacks on Saudi territory, where more than 100 soldiers and civilians have been killed in cross-border bombardments and skirmishes.
Elsewhere, coalition airstrikes in the northern city of Saada killed 11 civilians, including women and children, Yemen’s rebel-run news agency said.
Saudi Arabia accuses the Houthis of being an Iranian proxy, which the rebels deny.
Prices were also supported as the dollar tumbled against a basket of currencies after US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s comments at an worldwide gathering of central bankers in Jackson Hole. The UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights estimates that at least 9,000 people have died overall, and another 6,711 people have been wounded in the conflict.
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and other rights groups have similarly urged the US, UK and France to suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia until it curtails its air strikes in Yemen.
“What we’re trying to do is to continue to support the GNA, work toward political solutions and making sure we’re putting pressure on Daesh inside Libya”, the official said.
Kerry also said that reinstating stability to Yemen is important to alleviate the suffering of civilians and to stop extremist groups like Al-Qaeda and Islamic State (Isis) from taking further advantage of the power vacuum.
The overnight attack in the city of Saada, a stronghold of the Shiite rebels known as Houthis, came as Iran’s foreign minister dismissed claims from Saudi Arabia that his country had supplied Yemen’s rebels with missiles.
Mr Kerry arrived in Jeddah on Wednesday night and had a three-hour dinner with Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman that lasted until almost 1am, according to U.S. officials. The two spoke briefly about the monarch’s health and an operation he had in the United States, apparently for back pain. It was not clear when the surgery was performed.
He continued “it is high time USA government learned from its egregious errors in Syria and Iraq by realizing existing facts and realities”.
Mr Kerry also met United Nations special envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the comments by Secretary of State John Kerry on a visit to Saudi Arabia on Thursday were “completely baseless”.
Yemen has been since March 26, 2015 under brutal aggression by Saudi-led coalition.
The Houthis had been demanding a unity government as the first step toward resolving Yemen’s war.
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Russian Federation and Iran, however, are strong backers of the Syrian president and have been accused of targeting moderate opposition forces, some of whom are supported by Washington and Gulf Arab states.
