DUBAI — Efforts to reach a ceasefire in Yemen's bloody conflict are
not making headway, UN envoy Martin Griffiths said Wednesday after an intense
week of diplomacy aimed at ending the fighting.
اضافة اعلان
Yemen's civil war, which started in 2014, pits Iran-backed
Houthi rebels
against an internationally recognized government supported by a Saudi-led
military coalition.
Since February, the
UN has been pushing for a nationwide ceasefire, the
lifting of restrictions on ports and airports, and the launch of a political
process to end the conflict.
An American delegation led by US special envoy Tim Lenderking and Senator
Chris Murphy met with Griffiths during the past week in Oman as part of the
diplomatic push.
Separately, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met with a rebel
leader in the Omani capital Muscat last week.
Also raising hopes were talks between a Saudi delegation led by intelligence
chief Khalid bin Ali Al-Humaidan with Iranian officials in Baghdad on April
9.
"We have been discussing these issues for over a year now. The
international community has been supporting us in full force. Unfortunately, we
are not where we would like to be in reaching a deal," Griffiths said in a
downbeat statement.
"Meanwhile, the war continued unabated causing immense suffering to the
civilian population."
Of particular concern is a fierce Houthi offensive to seize Marib city, the
capital of an oil-rich region, and the government's last stronghold in the
north.
"I will keep engaging the parties to the conflict and all involved and
concerned actors and stakeholders to offer them opportunities to find common
grounds to help advance the peace efforts," Griffiths said.
Yemen's long war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced
millions, sparking what the
UN calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
The US administration of President Joe Biden is mounting a renewed push to
end the conflict, warning that the suffering will only end when a political
solution is found.
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