Aden: Hans Grundberg, the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, arrived in the southern port city of Aden for a two-day visit, amid efforts to push the country’s warring parties to uphold a fragile ceasefire brokered by the world body.
Grundberg held meetings with Rashad Al-Alimi, president of the Presidential Leadership Council and other high-ranking officials of the internationally-recognised Yemeni government in Aden over the recent breaches to the truce, reports Xinhua news agency.
The meetings focused on upholding the current ceasefire and reviving peace talks between the Yemeni government and Houthi militia to end the years-long military conflict.
According to the state-run Saba news agency, “Al-Alimi affirmed his support for the humanitarian truce sponsored by the UN in all its provisions, including the requirement to lift the Houthi militia’s siege on the city of Taiz”.
He also “assured the UN envoy of his government’s readiness to provide everything necessary in order to facilitate the success of the UN efforts to bring peace”.
The UN-brokered ceasefire, meant to last two months, went into effect on April 2, marking the first major breakthrough in years to end the war that has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed the country to the brink of starvation.
So far the ceasefire has been largely held despite occasional accusations of breaches traded between the Yemeni warring sides.
Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed government out of the capital Sanaa.
–IANS