Following a briefing of the bloc’s Security Council in New York, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said a cease-fire was a priority and called on all parties involved to broker a truce before the end of the Islamic holiday of Ramadan on July 17, reports Agence France-Presse. He said more than 20 million people lack access to safe water and sanitation and that dengue fever and malaria had been reported in parts of the country. Also on Wednesday, an global Committee of the Red Cross ship carrying 1000 tonnes of food and generators from Oman docked in Yemen’s Hodeida port.
Advertisement
Three months after an Arab coalition began air raids in support of Hadi on March 26, the Houthis and allied military units loyal to ex- president Ali Abdullah Saleh remain the dominant force on the ground, and have stepped up attacks on Saudi border posts in recent weeks.
In a possible blow for peace hopes, Yemen’s Houthi-run state news agency Saba reported that Saudi-led forces had prevented an Omani aircraft with Yemeni delegates returning home from the Geneva peace talks from landing on Friday in Sanaa.
Four civilians, including two women, were killed in clashes in Aden, an official said. In Aden dozens of shells fell on densely populated neighbourhoods, while artillery duels shook the city of Taiz. “The food and generators will make a difference for tens of thousands of people directly affected by the armed conflict”. Aid groups say Yemen’s humanitarian crisis is worsening as a result of fighting and a coalition embargo.
According to diplomatic sources, who declined to be named, the UN envoy outlined a set of points on a solution to the crisis which included “the need for a ceasefire, an orderly withdrawal of Houthi forces from cities, monitoring and verification mechanisms, an agreement to respect global humanitarian law and not to hinder the deployment of humanitarian aid operations; and a commitment to engage in talks mediated by the United Nations“.
A delegation from the party of ex- president Saleh was also headed to Moscow to meet Russian officials, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.
Advertisement
“We are one step away from starvation”, said Ould Cheik Ahmed.
