- Title: UN envoy urges agreement on proposed peace plan to end Yemen conflict
- Date: 25th October 2016
- Summary: SANAA, YEMEN (OCTOBER 25, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SANAA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT U.N. ENVOY TO YEMEN, ISMAIL OULD CHEIKH AHMED, WALKING INTO A HALL FOR NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) U.N. ENVOY TO YEMEN, ISMAIL OULD CHEIKH AHMED, SAYING: "I leave Sanaa today carrying a great deal of sadness because of the destruction and pain being inflicted on the Yemeni people. I also see a lot of hope because I have a lot of trust in Yemenis, their resolve is unshakeable, their struggle unwavering." CAMERAMEN FILMING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) U.N. ENVOY TO YEMEN, ISMAIL OULD CHEIKH AHMED, SAYING: "I presented the General People's Congress (eds note: refers to party of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh) and Ansar Allah (eds note: refers to Houthis) a complete and specific plan with a timeline. I am counting on their readiness to protect the interests of Yemen and Yemenis to accept (the plan) given it is fair and comprehensive and includes both a security and a political plan that involves the participation of all the parties. (The plan) also has unprecedented international support." CAMERAMAN (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) U.N. ENVOY TO YEMEN, ISMAIL OULD CHEIKH AHMED, SAYING: "The humanitarian situation in Yemen is deteriorating further and cannot withstand any more delay tactics. It is essential to end the continuous bloodshed. We have proven in the last days and weeks and months that continuing the war has served no one and will serve no one. The only solution is a complete, comprehensive, political solution. It is now up to the officials to demonstrate political awareness and political wisdom." CHEIKH AHMED LEAVING NEWS CONFERENCE
- Embargoed: 9th November 2016 13:38
- Keywords: Yemen UN Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed Sanaa Houthi peace ceasefire
- Location: SANAA, YEMEN
- City: SANAA, YEMEN
- Country: Yemen
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Military Conflicts
- Reuters ID: LVA00155I7RD3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The U.N.'s envoy to Yemen urged the country's warring parties to agree to a proposed peace plan he presented to the Iran-backed Houthis and their allies in former President Ali Abdullah Saleh's General People's Congress, saying the suffering of Yemenis must end.
Speaking to reporters before leaving the capital Sanaa on Tuesday (October 25), Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said the humanitarian situation in the war-torn country was rapidly deteriorating and a peaceful resolution to the conflict must not be delayed.
"I leave Sanaa today carrying a great deal of sadness because of the destruction and pain being inflicted on the Yemeni people," said Cheikh Ahmed.
Cheikh Ahmed's comments came just as the World Food Programme released a statement saying food insecurity and child malnutrition were growing across the country.
The WFP statement said "hunger is increasing by the day" and the population had "exhausted all their survival strategies".
A 72-hour ceasefire was agreed last week to allow aid agencies to reach parts of the country in dire need of humanitarian assistance but had been cut off by months of fighting.
The United Nations and diplomats had hoped a pause in the conflict would pave the way for talks to end a 19-month-old war which has killed at least 10,000 people in the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country.
The coalition led by Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Arab Allies has been fighting Houthi rebels and forces loyal to former president Saleh in Yemen since March 2015 to try to restore exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi back to power.
On Tuesday, Cheikh Ahmed said he presented the Houthis and Saleh loyalists with a "fair and comprehensive" peace plan and urged the parties to accept it.
Several rounds of peace talks and negotiations in recent months have failed to bring an end to the conflict. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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