United Nations: The UN Security Council met behind closed doors on Thursday to address fears that a Saudi-led coalition’s offensive on a key port in Yemen will lead to a humanitarian catastrophe.
Sweden, a non-permanent council member and leading voice on humanitarian issues, called on the council to demand an immediate halt to the assault to allow time for talks on a Ansar Allah withdrawal from Hodeida port.
The United Nations has warned that the military operation could cripple deliveries of commercial goods and humanitarian aid to millions of people in Yemen who are on the brink of famine.
“It is time for the Security Council to call for an immediate freeze of the military attack on Hodeida,” said Swedish Deputy Ambassador Carl Skau in a statement ahead of the meeting.
“This is needed to give the special envoy and United Nations-led efforts a chance to avert disaster and find a sustainable political solution to the conflict.”
Britain requested the urgent talks at the council — the second meeting by the top UN body this week on the crisis in Yemen.
The UN’s envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, was to brief council members by video-conference. A senior UN aid official was also to report on humanitarian operations. The Red Sea port, controlled by the Ansar Allah, serves as the entry point for 70 per cent of the impoverished country’s imports, but the coalition maintains that the rebels use it to smuggle weapons.
— AFP
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