VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis is pressing for negotiations involving the sides in the Yemen conflict so the humanitarian crisis doesn't worsen.

In public remarks Sunday, Francis said he was following "with worry the dramatic fate of the people of Yemen, already so exhausted from years of conflict."

He appealed to the international community so that "no effort be spared to urgently bring to the negotiating table the sides in conflict and to avoid a worsening of the already tragic humanitarian situation."

In Yemen, witnesses have reported that a Saudi-led coalition has carried out airstrikes on the airport in Yemen's rebel-held port city of Hodeida.

The port is the main entry point for food and aid to the country, which is already on the brink of famine.