UN calls for Yemen truce and aid access

Urges peace and warns of famine and cholera threats

UNITED NATIONS // The UN Security Council has urged warring parties in Yemen to agree to a ceasefire and allow humanitarian aid against the threats of famine and cholera. A presidential statement urged the Houthi rebels and the internationally recognised government to engage in peace talks “in a flexible and constructive manner without preconditions, and in good faith” to end the three-year civil war.

The British-drafted statement, approved by all 15 council members, stressed the importance of keeping all ports, especially Hodeida, open as “a critical lifeline” for humanitarian supplies.

Britain’s UN ambassador, Matthew Rycroft, said Thursday’s statement was the first call for an end to the violence, resumption of political process and full access for humanitarian aid.

The council’s unity showed the level of concern about the civil war, “exacerbated by the humanitarian disaster that is unfolding”, Mr Rycroft said.

“This is a sign to the parties that they really must get back to a genuine, meaningful political process to finish the conflict, and to overcome the divisions of the past – and the only way to do that is through a long-term political settlement,” he said. Yemen has been engulfed in civil war since September 2014 when Houthi rebels swept into the capital of Sanaa and overthrew president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi’s government.

In March 2015, a Saudi- led coalition backed by the US began a campaign against Houthi forces – allied with ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh – in support of Mr Hadi.

The Iran-backed Houthis have since been dislodged from most of the south, but control Sanaa and much of the north.

The Security Council gave its support to “the tireless efforts” by UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed to bring the parties to the table, and strongly condemned the attack on his convoy on a recent visit to Sanaa.

Houthi leaders refused to meet Mr Cheikh Ahmed on that trip and this month rejected him as a negotiator, calling him biased.

The Security Council also backed his proposal to continue the flow of commercial and humanitarian supplies through Hodeida, where there has been a threat of fighting.

It urged an end to the diversion of customs revenues and taxes so that money could be used to pay government salaries and preserve essential government services in all areas.

The statement was approved hours after the UN humanitarian chief in Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick, warned that the cholera outbreak was depleting aid and that they would not be able to provide food to people threatened by famine. Mr McGoldrick said 923 had died of cholera and there were 124,002 suspected cases, which could double by September.

The council also called on all Yemenis to combine efforts to counter the threat from extremists including ISIL and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.