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UN Envoy Urges Yemeni Rivals To ‘Bridge The Gap’

  The UN envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, urged rival Yemeni forces Monday to “bridge the gap” to reach a ceasefire, praising a diplomatic push … Continue reading UN Envoy Urges Yemeni Rivals To ‘Bridge The Gap’


In this file photograph taken on September 5, 2018, Palestinian school children raise the victory gesture over a UN flag during a protest at a United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) school, financed by US aid, in the Arroub refugee camp near Hebron in the occupied West Bank. – The United Nations said on June 18, 2020, that it was resuming resettlement travel for refugees, which was suspended in March due to the coronavirus crisis, delaying departures for some 10,000 refugees. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP)
In this file photograph taken on September 5, 2018,  (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP)

 

The UN envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, urged rival Yemeni forces Monday to “bridge the gap” to reach a ceasefire, praising a diplomatic push for peace in the devastated country.

Yemen’s civil war, which started in 2014, pits Iran-backed Huthi rebels against an internationally recognised government supported by a Saudi-led military coalition.

“Throughout the process, we have suggested several ways to bridge the gap between the parties,” Griffiths told reporters, speaking after meeting Huthi officials in the rebel-held capital Sanaa.

Yemen’s long war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions.

“There’s an extraordinary amount of diplomatic consensus… there is a real diplomatic energy now, which hasn’t always been the case,” Griffiths said.

The effort to secure peace in Yemen comes after regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran restarted talks last month, their first high-level meeting since Riyadh cut diplomatic ties with Tehran in 2016.

While the United Nations and the US administration of President Joe Biden are pushing to end the grinding conflict, the rebels have demanded the re-opening of Sanaa airport before any ceasefire agreement.

The Saudi-led coalition imposed an air blockade on the Huthis, which has resulted in the closure of Sanaa airport to commercial flights since 2016.

“All of our proposals have also guaranteed the reopening of this airport where we are speaking today, Sanaa airport,” said Griffiths,

Griffiths, a British diplomat, was earlier this month named as the UN’s next humanitarian chief.