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UN envoy calls on Yemeni parties to prioritize peace over partisan agendas

Xinhua, November 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the UN special envoy for Yemen, on Monday called upon all the Yemeni parties to prioritize peace over their partisan agendas, saying that what Yemen is witnessing today contravenes the commitments made by the parties to the United Nations to peace.

The UN envoy, while briefing the UN Security Council on the current situation in Yemen, said that the security situation there is dire, and the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate despite the efforts of the humanitarian agencies.

The conduct of the parties on the ground is contrary to the commitments they made previously to engage fully and constructively in the UN-mediated peace process, he said.

The special envoy said that he will return to the region immediately to start consultations with both parties in Sanaa and Riyadh with the aim of reaching a detailed agreement based on the Roadmap.

"It is now the responsibility of the delegations to prioritize peace, rather than partisan agendas," he said.

Also on Monday, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, Stephen O'Brien briefed the 15-nation council members by phone, saying that the humanitarian situation in Yemen has worsened.

O'Brien said that 80 percent of Yemenis need humanitarian assistance, and he stressed the need for effective and independent investigations into war crimes.

At least 27 civilians, mostly children and women, were killed on Saturday in three Yemeni provinces by airstrikes from a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia, officials and residents said.

Earlier this month, the airstrikes hit a funeral hall in the capital Sanaa, killing 140 mourners, including children, and wounded over 600 others.

Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen conflict in March last year to restore its ally President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and his government to power, after Houthis and forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh fought a revolution against "Hadi government corruption" and drove Hadi with his cabinet to flee into exile.

The Saudi-led coalition has ever since failed to restore Hadi or recapture northern provinces from the allied Houthi and Saleh forces which also control the capital Sanaa.

The Saudi-led airstrikes and ground combat have killed over 10,000 Yemenis, mostly children and women, and forced more than two million to flee their homes.

The latest round of peace efforts by the United Nations appeared to fail to end the 19-month long war in Yemen after apparently both rival, Houthis and their foe Hadi, rejected latest UN peace plan presented by the UN envoy last week. Enditem