UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council on Friday endorsed the secretary-general’s call for the warring parties in Yemen to immediately stop fighting and focus on reaching a peace agreement and countering the outbreak of the new coronavirus.
In its first statement on recent developments in Yemen, the U.N.’s most powerful body welcomed the unilateral cease-fire announced by the Saudi-led coalition to support the U.N.-led peace process and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ call for a cease-fire. The two-week cease-fire went into effect on April 9.
The council statement followed a briefing Thursday by U.N. special envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths, who said the threat of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, has galvanized peace efforts.
He said talks with the Saudi-backed government and Yemen’s Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, “are making very good progress” and he expects the warring sides to adopt proposals for a nationwide cease-fire and peace talks “in the immediate future.”
But Mohamed Abdel Salam, a spokesman for the Iran-backed Houthis said Thursday the current U.N. proposal neglects a key rebel demand — to lift Saudi Arabia’s air-and-sea blockade, which aid officials partly blame for fueling the country’s humanitarian crisis.
“Dialogue under fire and siege is only a strong-arm tactic that works in the interest of the military option,” Salam said.
Clashes have continued since Griffiths’ new offer, casting doubt over a future peace agreement.
Griffiths acknowledged the continuing violence but said that in his discussions with the rebel leader, Abdel-Malik al-Houthi “always communicated his desire to end this war.”
The Security Council “voiced concerns about the ongoing hostilities,” called on the Houthis to commit to a cease-fire “without delay,” and called on both parties “to engage constructively” on Griffiths’ proposals and reach agreement “as soon as possible.”
The arrival of the coronavirus in Yemen, which reported its first case earlier this month, threatens deeper and more widespread suffering in the Arab world’s poorest country, convulsed by civil war since 2014, when the Houthis took control of the country’s north, including the capital, Sanaa. The Saudi-led military coalition intervened against the Houthis the following year, conducting relentless airstrikes and a blockade of Yemen.
Council members underlined “the vital importance” of access to humanitarian and economic aid for Yemenis in need, which is “especially important in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.”