COVID-19: Devastated Saudi Royal Family Seeks to End Yemen War
Joe Lauria, Consortium News, le 8 avril 2020
▻https://consortiumnews.com/2020/04/08/covid-19-devastated-saudi-royal-family-seeks-to-end-yemen-war
The unilateral ceasefire will begin at noon on Thursday, Saudi time, and is to last at least two weeks. Its stated intention is to prevent an outbreak of the virus in Yemen. Under no existing modeling can a coronavirus outbreak be defeated in two weeks.
Senior members of the royal family, including 84-year old King Salman, and the effective ruler, Muhammad bin Salman, have retreated to an island off the coast of Jeddah in the Red Sea.
Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the powerful governor of Riyadh who is a nephew to the king, is stricken with the disease and is in intensive care, The New York Times reported, citing two doctors “with ties” to King Faisal Hospital and two other sources near to the royal family.
In all, 150 members of the ruling family are reported to have been infected. The Saudi government officially said it is seeking the ceasefire because of its fear that the virus could spread in Yemen, where there are still no reported cases. There are 3,287 cases in Saudi Arabia, with 44 deaths and 2,577 cases still unresolved.