{"id":45355,"date":"2021-05-13T16:22:46","date_gmt":"2021-05-13T16:22:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=45355"},"modified":"2021-05-13T16:22:46","modified_gmt":"2021-05-13T16:22:46","slug":"egypt-delegation-in-tel-aviv-for-cease-fire-talks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=45355","title":{"rendered":"Egypt delegation in Tel Aviv for cease-fire talks"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\nUNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council called for an immediate halt to fighting in Yemen on Wednesday, saying that only a lasting cease-fire and political settlement can end the six-year conflict in the Arab world\u2019s poorest nation and the world\u2019s worst humanitarian crisis.
In calling for a cessation of hostilities, the council singled out the military escalation by Iranian-backed Shiite Houthi rebels in the oil-rich central province of Marib, the internationally recognized government\u2019s last stronghold in Yemen\u2019s northern half. The offensive has put at risk an estimated 1 million civilians who have fled there since 2015 to escape fighting elsewhere.
The council\u2019s press statement followed a briefing by UN special envoy Martin Griffiths, who said he couldn\u2019t emphasize enough that the more than yearlong Houthi offensive \u201chas caused an astonishing loss of life, including children who have been mercilessly thrown into the battle.\u201d
Displaced people in Marib are living in fear for their lives, he said, \u201cand the offensive has been until now constantly disrupting peace efforts.\u201d
In 2014, the Houthis overran the capital, Sanaa, and much of Yemen\u2019s north, driving the government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi into exile. A US-backed, Saudi-led coalition intervened the following year against the Houthis seeking to restore Hadi\u2019s rule.
The intensified fighting in Marib has come amid an international and regional diplomatic push to end the conflict.
\u201cThe longer the Marib offensive goes on, the greater the risk to Yemen\u2019s broader stability and social cohesion,\u201d Griffiths warned. \u201cIt may lead to the transfer of conflict to other areas in Yemen, including those which have remained mercifully far from the main theaters of conflict. Yemen is an unstable country, easily destabilized.\u201d
Griffiths expressed fear the Marib offensive may suggest to some that the war can be won militarily, but he said military conquest will only fuel further cycles of violence and unrest. He said Yemen can only be governed effectively by an \u201cinclusive partnership\u201d of \u201cdifferent political forces and components.\u201d
UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock told the council that about 25,000 people have fled the fighting in Marib, many for the second or third time. If the fighting doesn\u2019t stop, he said, \u201caid agencies fear up to 385,000 people could be displaced in the coming months.\u201d
Lowcock warned that \u201cfamine is still stalking the country, with five million people just a step away from starving,\u201d and COVID-19 cases are still surging, \u201cpushing the health care system to collapse.\u201d Famine, disease and other miseries are the result of the war and that is why \u201cit is so important to stop the fighting,\u201d he said.
Since March 2020, Griffiths has been trying to get the Houthis and the government to commit to a nationwide cease-fire, to reopen Sanaa airport to commercial traffic, ensure an uninterrupted flow of fuel and commodities through the main port of Hodeida, and to resume a political process aimed at reaching a political settlement.
\u201cI am here to say that a deal is still very much possible,\u201d Griffiths told the council.
\u201cThere is strong international backing and there is regional momentum for the UN\u2019s efforts,\u201d he said, expressing gratitude to Oman, Saudi Arabia, the United States and others. They are working closely and \u201cwithout any differences between us,\u201d he said.
Griffiths said the differences between the parties in Yemen \u201care not unbridgeable\u201d and \u201ca deal can be achieved easily, very quickly,\u201d if both sides agree.
But he told the council that on several occasions during negotiations, the Houthis refused to meet with him, including recently. \u201cTo say this sends a wrong signal is an understatement,\u201d he said.
Security Council members expressed support for Griffiths \u201cand expressed their expectation that the Houthis meet him soon.\u201d
Shortly after the council meeting ended, Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres announced the appointment of Griffiths as the UN\u2019s next humanitarian chief, replacing Lowcock. But Guterres said Griffiths will continue to serve as the UN\u2019s top envoy for Yemen \u201cuntil a transition has been announced.\u201d
In the coming weeks, Griffiths said, all countries should push the parties, in particular the Houthis, to conclude negotiations so the fighting stops.
\u201cAnd I would like to be able to resolve that before we meet again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council called for an immediate halt to fighting in Yemen on Wednesday, saying that only a lasting cease-fire and political settlement can end the six-year conflict in the Arab world\u2019s poorest nation and the world\u2019s worst humanitarian crisis.In calling for a cessation of hostilities, the council singled out the military…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spotlight_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45355\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}