U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry held talks with Saudi Arabia’s powerful deputy crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, into the early hours of Thursday morning aimed at finding ways to end Yemen’s conflict and resume peace talks between the warring sides. “It has to stop”.
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“In a statement, United Nations rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said Yemeni civilians “have suffered unbearably over the years” because of armed conflicts, adding “. they continue to suffer, absent any form of accountability and justice, while those responsible for the violations and abuses against them enjoy impunity.
After 18 months of airstrikes, the Saudi-led coalition – which is backing the Yemeni government of president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi – has not yet been able to dislodge the Houthi rebels and allied renegade soldiers loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh from the capital, in addition to an area on the Red Sea and in the north.
The United Nations top human rights official called Thursday for an global inquiry into possible war crimes and other accusations of abuses in Yemen.
Fewer than five US service members are now assigned full-time to the “Joint Combined Planning Cell”, which was established a year ago to coordinate US support, including air-to-air refueling of coalition jets and limited intelligence-sharing, Lieutenant Ian McConnaughey, a US Navy spokesman in Bahrain, told Reuters.
He said the United States is “deeply troubled” over Saudi photographs showing Iranian-supplied missiles being positioned along the Saudi-Yemen border, and rocket attacks fired at Saudi Arabia’s southern border from Yemen. The border violence has killed several civilians and Saudi border guards. The two spoke briefly about the monarch’s health and an operation he had in the United States, apparently for back pain.
Kerry also met UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to exchange ideas about reaching a political solution in Yemen.
This was stated after joint meeting of the foreign ministers of the six countries of the Gulf Co-operation Council with the US Secretary of State John Kerry in Jeddah.
Mr Kerry is scheduled to travel to Geneva next, where he will meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
The US military has withdrawn from Saudi Arabia most of its personnel who were coordinating with the Saudi-led air campaign in Yemen and has sharply reduced the number of staff elsewhere who were assisting in the planning, US officials told Reuters.
“It’s not either-or. We want to get humanitarian access better ensured and at the same time we need a ceasefire in place”.
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Zeid, who is also a member of the Jordanian royal family, did not specify who would set up the global body, but he is expected to present the report’s findings to the U.N. Human Rights Council at its session next month. Backing by Gulf Arab states for the Syria plan is vital because they wield influence over Syrian opposition groups fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad.
