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New UN envoy for Yemen to visit Saudi capital for consultations

Xinhua, May 7, 2015 Adjust font size:

The new UN envoy for Yemen is scheduled to visit Saudi capital of Riyadh Thursday to meet with exiled Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi and Saudi officials for consultations, said a spokesperson here on Wednesday.

"The Special Envoy on Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed is conducting intensive consultations aimed at getting the political process (in Yemen) back on track," UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq told a daily briefing.

"The Special Envoy tomorrow will go to Riyadh for meetings with President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, Vice President Khaled Bahah and other Yemeni officials, as well as with Saudi officials," he said.

Hadi, who was elected president of Yemen in 2012 following a popular uprising that forced former President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down, is currently in exile in Saudi Arabia. He fled the country on March 25, 2015 to escape house arrest by Yemen's Shiite 's Houthi militias.

Haq also said Ahmed plans to travel from Riyadh to other regional capitals for further consultations, and the UN is trying to organize a conference on neutral ground to address the crisis, but the date is not yet set.

Violent conflict in Yemen is spreading. The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that widespread violence has intensified in Aden Governorate, with reports of heavy shelling and clashes taking place in seven districts, especially heavy in Khormaskar district. It has also reported of airstrikes in Sa'ada Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia, along with eight other Arab states, have been bombing the Houthi group and forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullash Saleh since March 26, aiming to restore the rule by exiled Hadi.

Humanitarian situation in the country has been drastically deteriorating since the start of coalition airstrikes. Haq said residents report a lack of food, water, fuel and breakdown of basic services in both Aden and Sa'ada Governorates, with several districts in Aden Governorate reportedly having been completely cut off. Endite