UN Chief Calls for End to All Armed Clashes, Airstrikes in Yemen

TEHRAN (defapress) - United Nations Secretary General António Guterres has called on the parties to the conflict in Yemen to cease all air and ground assaults, expressing deep concern about the “sharp escalation” of armed clashes and airstrikes in the capital, Sana'a, and other parts of the country.

News ID: 67242

Date: 04 December 2017 - 19:20

A statement issued by Guterres' Spokesman Sunday evening said the fighting has already resulted in dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries, including civilians, and is also restricting the movement of people and life-saving services within Sana'a city.

"Ambulances and medical teams cannot access the injured and people cannot go outside to buy food and other necessities. Aid workers are unable to travel and implement critical life-saving programs at a time when millions of Yemenis rely on assistance to survive,” said the statement.

This latest outbreak of violence could not come at a worse time for the Yemeni people, who are already caught up in the world's largest humanitarian crisis.

The conflict and blockade that was put in place on 6 November – and is still not lifted – have caused significant shortages of critical supplies, especially food and fuel, and resulted in price hikes, curtailing access to food, safe water and healthcare.

"The Secretary General calls for the urgent resumption of all commercial imports, without which millions of children, women and men risk mass hunger, disease and death,” the statement underscored.

The UN chief went on to call on all parties to the conflict to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law, with the statement emphasizing: "It is paramount that civilians are protected, that the wounded are afforded safe access to medical care, and that all sides facilitate life-saving humanitarian access.”

"The Secretary General reiterates that there is no military solution to the Yemen conflict. He urges all parties to the conflict to engage meaningfully with the United Nations to revitalize inclusive negotiations on a political settlement,” the statement concluded.

Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies have been carrying out deadly airstrikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in an attempt to restore power to fugitive former president Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, an ally of Riyadh.

Over 12,000 Yemenis, including thousands of women and children, have lost their lives in the deadly military campaign.

Following defeats from the Houthi Ansarullah movement, the Saudi-led coalition is sowing discord among the Yemen's Supreme Political Council members.

As a result of Saudi conspiracies, the former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh forces entered clashes with the Houthi Ansarullah movement in the capital, Sana’a.

However, Yemen’s Army Spokesman Brigadier General Sharaf Luqman said on Sunday that security has been restored in the whole Sana’a province after days of clashes with militiamen of Saleh.

"Security in the whole Sana’a province has been restored and there is a state of tranquility in the province,” the Yemeni Army spokesman noted in an exclusive interview with the Lebanese based Al Mayadeen TV Network.