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Martin Griffiths, tThe UN envoy to Yemen arrived in the strategic port city of Hodeidah to discuss plans with Houthi rebels to hand over control of the port to the world body and set the stage for the resumption of peace negotiations.
Griffiths, who on Wednesday launched a rebel-controlled peace mission in rebel-held Yemen to Sanaa, said Friday he discussed with Houthi officials "how the UN could help keep the peace" in Iraq. Hodeidah.
"I am here to tell you today that we have agreed that the UN should now actively and urgently pursue detailed negotiations for a leading UN role in the port and more. widely, "Griffiths told reporters.
Griffiths urged the warring parties of Yemen to "keep the peace" in the port city, claiming that "the world's attention is on Hodeidah".
Also Friday, Rheal LeBlanc, spokesman for the UN, said that the world organization was ready to play a supervisory role in the management of the port, which before the start of the war in March 2015 , managed more than 70% of the country's imports.
Earlier this year, Abdel-Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the Houthi rebels, had said it was ready to hand over control of the Hodeidah port to the UN if the Saudi-UAE military alliance put an end to its offensive on the city.
Riyadh and Abu Dhabi regard the port as the main point of entry for the Houthis and accuse their regional rival, Iran, of sending missiles to the rebels, a false accusation from Tehran.
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WATCH: Yemen's prospects for peace increase as Government and Houthis move closer to negotiations (2:12) |
Last week, fighting virtually stopped, rebel and pro-government forces, supported by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, expressed their support for the UN envoy's plan to end the war by more than three years.
Griffiths is expected to meet local authorities in Hodeidah later on Friday.
No date has yet been set for the negotiations, but the warring parties are expected to meet in Sweden in early December.
Mohammed Adow of Al Jazeera, of neighboring Djibouti, said Mr. Griffiths and the international community were aware that "there can be no solution to the massive humanitarian crisis as long as the fighting continues in some countries." crucial places for humanitarian workers ".
According to the World Food Program, nearly 14 million Yemenis are now at risk of starvation.
Adow also said that there was a "momentum" to end the war in Yemen. "Everyone sees in peace talks the best chance of achieving that goal."
Years of war
Griffiths arrived in the capital Sanaa on Wednesday and met with rebel leader al-Houthi to discuss their presence in the next round of consultations.
Mohammed Abdul Salam, a spokesman for the Houthis, said in a statement Twitter statement Thursday, there was talk of the terms of a ceasefire and an offer of medical treatment to the Houthis.
Al-Houthi also called for the lifting of economic restrictions on rebel-held areas.
Nader Hashemi, director of the Middle East Studies Center at the University of Denver, said the pressure was mounting on Riyadh and Washington to end the war in Yemen because of international outcry provoked by the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The war in Yemen, the poorest country in the Arab world, began in 2014 when the government slashed fuel subsidies, provoking mass protests in Sanaa.
The Houthis seized the opportunity and left the fief of the province of Saada to go to the capital, where they overthrew the government of Hadi.
Concerned about the rise of the Houthis, a Saudi-led military coalition, backed by the United States, intervened in 2015 with a massive air campaign to resettle the Hadi government.
Since then, data collected by Al Jazeera and the Yemen Data Project have revealed that more than 18,000 air raids have been carried out in Yemen, nearly one-third of all bombing missions that have affected non-military sites.
Weddings, funerals, schools and hospitals, as well as hydro and electric power stations, were affected, leaving thousands dead and injured.
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