YEMEN-SECURITY/UN ENVOY UN envoy arrives in Yemen looking for Ramadan truce

Record ID: 148372

  • Title: YEMEN-SECURITY/UN ENVOY UN envoy arrives in Yemen looking for Ramadan truce
  • Date: 5th July 2015
  • Summary: SANAA, YEMEN (JULY 5, 2015) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** PLANE CARRYING UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL ENVOY TO YEMEN, ISMAIL OULD CHEIKH AHMED, ARRIVING AT SANAA AIRPORT CHEIKH AHMED DISEMBARKING FROM PLANE CHEIKH AHMED BEING GREETED BY YEMENI OFFICIALS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) U.N. SPECIAL ENVOY TO YEMEN, ISMAIL OULD CHEIKH AHMED, SAYING: "We have arrived on o
  • Embargoed: 20th July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Yemen
  • Country: Yemen
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVADZECX9K8D2PP4QFC2IKKAHKG0
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The United Nations special envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed arrived in the Yemeni capital on Sunday (July 5) amid intensified efforts to negotiate a humanitarian truce in the war-torn country.
    His arrival coincided with continued air strikes by Saudi-led forces, which killed 30 civilians in an attack on a market in northern Yemen on Sunday, the Houthi-run news agency Saba said.
    The three month war has so far killed nearly 3,000 people and plunged the already impoverished country into an all-out humanitarian crisis. Millions of people are struggling to secure food, water, medicines and fuel.
    Cheikh Ahmed wants to arrange a pause in fighting until the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, on July 17, to allow for deliveries of humanitarian aid.
    "We have arrived on our third visit to Sanaa after I took on the mission of U.N. special envoy. We are intensifying out efforts to reach a peaceful resolution to this crisis that, in truth, as you know, has resulted in a humanitarian catastrophe for the Yemeni people," said Cheikh Ahmed upon arriving at Sanaa airport.
    "Today, I arrived with a large humanitarian team including my colleague Amer Daoud, the regional co-ordinator for humanitarian issues. We are working towards reaching a humanitarian truce with all parties in this regard," he said.
    The envoy said though he was "optimistic" about reaching a temporary truce, his main goal was to achieve a long-term political resolution.
    "The central issue that we are focusing on is a long-term peaceful resolution and to bring back the issues to the negotiating table so the Yemeni people can return to a peaceful political process," he said.
    An Arab coalition, led by Saudi Arabia, has been pounding the Iran-backed Houthi forces and allied army units loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh since March in a campaign to restore exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power.
    Saba said Sunday's air strike targeted the Aahem market in Hajjah province, where preliminary figures showed that 30 civilians were killed and an unspecified number of people were wounded.
    Residents confirmed an air strike on the market but gave no figures on casualties.
    Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul Salam said in a post on his Facebook page that he had met Cheikh Ahmed on Friday (July 3) in Muscat to discuss the matter.
    The United Nations last week designated the war in Yemen as a Level 3 humanitarian crisis, its most severe category.
    On Friday, the United Nations alerted aid groups to be prepared for a possible humanitarian pause in fighting in Yemen that would allow them to deliver help to some of the 21 million people in need.
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