BUENOS AIRES: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday played down hopes for an imminent breakthrough on ending Yemen’s brutal war, saying he hoped talks would start by the end of the year. Ansar Allah fighters, who have persisted in their fight despite an onslaught from neighbouring Saudi Arabia, earlier on Thursday said they were ready to take part in negotiations that the United Nations had earlier mooted for next week in Sweden.
But Guterres lowered hopes on the timing of the talks, which are being arranged as millions of Yemenis are feared to be on the brink of starvation.
“I don’t want to raise too much expectations, but we are working hard in order to make sure that we can start meaningful peace talks still this year,” Guterres told reporters in Buenos Aires, where he will take part in the G20 summit.
“But, as you know, there have been some setbacks,” he said, pointing in part to Saudi Arabia’s concerns over continued rocket attacks by Ansar Allah.
The United Nations has described Yemen as the world’s worst humanitarian disaster, with at least 10,000 people killed since the intervention began in 2015.
International patience has been wearing thin with Saudi Arabia, which is trying to bolster the internationally backed president, Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.
The US Senate moved on Wednesday to cut off US support for the Saudi-led coalition, outraged at accounts of attacks on civilian targets including hospitals and a school bus. — AFP
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
