Local Editor
The UN envoy for Yemen said Tuesday he was "very concerned" over fighting for Yemen’s port of Hodeida, as Saudi-backed forces attempt to capture the gateway for aid into the war-torn country.
Martin Griffiths was speaking as he wrapped up a three-day visit aimed at reviving talks between Saudi-backed loyalist forces and the Houthi-led government in Sanaa.
"Apart from the avoidable humanitarian consequences of such a battle, I am also very concerned about the impact (on) chances of a political settlement of this conflict," he told reporters in the capital Sanaa.
The envoy, appointed to the post in February, told reporters at Sanaa airport that his talks had been "positive" but warned of the impact of the Hodeida fight on civilians.
"My aim is to restart negotiations which have not taken place for a very long time -- for too long -- and I want that to restart in the very near future," he said.
Multiple rounds of United Nations-brokered talks between the Houthi Ansarullah group and the ousted Hadi regime, allied with Saudi Arabia, have failed to find a solution to the Yemen war.
Griffiths is due to report to the Security Council on June 18 on his peace efforts.
In Yemen, Griffiths met with Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the Huthis' political council, and representatives of the General People's Congress -- a party founded by former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, killed in December.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
