New York (Union)
The members of the United Nations Security Council condemned the recent escalation by the Houthi coup group in Yemen, including the targeting of prominent government officials in Taiz Governorate.
In a press statement issued yesterday evening by Vasily Nebenzia, Russia’s representative to the United Nations, the members of the Council, whose country chaired the Council for this month, urged the Houthis to refrain from any provocative actions and to prioritize the interest of the Yemeni people.
The 15 member states of the Security Council also expressed their support for efforts to reach a comprehensive ceasefire and launch comprehensive “Yemeni-Yemeni” political talks, under the auspices of the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, based on previous agreements and in line with relevant Security Council resolutions.
The statement called on all parties to engage constructively in efforts to resolve the conflict by peaceful means and protect civilians in line with international humanitarian law.
The statement also welcomed the recent agreement between the Yemeni government and the Houthi group in Geneva, which provided for the release of hundreds of abductees and prisoners.
The members of the Security Council expressed their aspiration for the implementation of this agreement during the month of Ramadan, and encouraged continued dialogue and progress on confidence-building measures to work towards a political settlement and ultimately alleviate the suffering of Yemenis.
The members of the Security Council also expressed their support for the United Nations efforts to prevent the catastrophic spill from the Safer oil tanker, and called on donors, including the private sector and the international community, to contribute the remaining $34 million needed to implement the emergency operation to deal with the tanker.
They emphasized the importance of timely implementation of the project in order to prevent an economic, environmental and humanitarian catastrophe in the Red Sea and beyond.
Last month, representatives of the Yemeni government and the Houthis agreed to release 887 prisoners as a first stage, after negotiations in Geneva under the auspices of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, which in turn announced that the two parties would meet again in May to discuss the release of more prisoners.
The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross said that the Yemeni government and the putschists agreed to meet again next May to discuss the release of more prisoners.
In February, the United States, Britain and France condemned the Houthi attacks targeting civilian infrastructure in Yemen, and the three countries called on the Houthi group to stop launching more of them, and affirmed their commitment to a political solution to the conflict in the country.
A truce entered into force in Yemen on April 2, 2022, but it ended on October 2. Last January, the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, told the Security Council that the intensification of talks to conclude a new truce in the war was “encouraging.”
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