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1st LD Writethru: UN chief welcomes humanitarian pause in Yemen

Xinhua, July 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on Sunday welcomed the announcement by the Saudi-led Coalition of a unilateral five-day, renewable humanitarian pause in Yemen.

The pause was set to start on Sunday at 23:59 local time.

In a statement released by his spokesperson, Ban urged the Houthis, the General People's Congress and all other parties to agree to and maintain the humanitarian pause "for the sake of all the Yemeni people," calling on all to act in good faith throughout the pause.

He also called on all parties to the conflict to suspend military operations during the pause and refrain from exploiting the pause to move weapons or seize territory.

"The Secretary-General urges all parties to facilitate the urgent delivery of humanitarian assistance to all parts of Yemen, as well as rapid, safe, and unhindered access for humanitarian actors to reach people in need of humanitarian assistance, including medical assistance," said the statement.

It is not the first time that such short humanitarian truce are announced, yet previous ones were proven to be only shaky as no side truly laid down their arms and honored the agreement.

The Saudi coalition has been engaged in a war against the Houthis since late March to restore the rule of President Hadi in the country, most of which is now under the control of the Houthis.

After more than three months of airstrikes and civil war, humanitarian disaster emerged in Yemen as about 80 percent of its 24 million population are in need of aid. More than 3,000 people have been killed and more than one million displaced. Endite