Medical aid reaches capital

The Red Cross and UN flew medical aid into Yemen's capital on Friday for the first time since Saudi-led coalition forces began airstrikes against Shiite rebels more than two weeks ago.

Also on Friday, Pakistan's parliament decided not to join the Saudi-led coalition, with lawmakers adopting a resolution that calls on the warring parties to resolve the conflict through peaceful dialogue.

The UN called for an immediate "humanitarian pause" of at least a few hours each day in the country to allow more aid to enter.

There must be an "immediate humanitarian pause in this conflict," said Johannes Van Der Klaauw, the UN's humanitarian coordinator in Yemen.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said it sent an aircraft to Sanaa, its first aid shipment since the international campaign against Shiite rebels began.

Marie Claire Feghali, the organization's spokeswoman in Yemen, said the plane had more than 16 metric tons of medical aid.

Residents and officials in Aden said the southern city was pounded overnight after Houthi Shiite rebels and renegade army soldiers loyal to former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh arrived at the city's northern entrance.

In Islamabad, Pakistani lawmakers unanimously voted in favor of a resolution that states "the parliament desires that Pakistan should maintain neutrality in the Yemen conflict so as to be able to play a proactive diplomatic role to end the crisis."

The predominantly Sunni Pakistan, which has a Shiite minority of its own and shares a long border with Shiite powerhouse Iran, has been concerned about getting involved in Yemen's increasingly sectarian conflict and a Saudi-Iran proxy war in the region.

Meanwhile, Iran has been trying to garner international support to stop the bombing.

AFP - AP