Local Editor
Senior UN officials briefed the Security Council on the details of a UN-brokered ceasefire in Yemen on Friday in and around the key port city of Hodeida, which is expected to restore a humanitarian lifeline to millions across the country, and kickstart imports of commercial goods.
Joining the Council via a live videolink from Jordan, Martin Griffiths, UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, said that the talks, which concluded in Sweden on Thursday, saw the highest level of common ground ever established between the warring parties, during consultations to end the country’s brutal war.
Griffiths thanked former Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour and the leader of the opposition Houthi delegation for their commitment to the consultations and expressed his hope that the commitments made in Sweden will be honored. The UN, he said, has been asked to monitor the compliance of both sides to their ceasefire commitments.
The Special Envoy made clear that the agreement is a “humanitarian stop gap to save lives and turn the tide of war towards peace”, and that achieving the next steps towards peace will be a “daunting task.” Hodeida, he said, is the “vital lifeline for the humanitarian program upon which millions of Yemenis depend. The ghastly prospect of famine has made solving Hodeida urgent and necessary.”
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
