The United Arab Emirates (UAE), whose troops are fighting Yemeni rebels alongside government forces, yesterday said that it would fully support new peace talks after UN-brokered negotiations broke down earlier this month.
Emirati Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said he had held “very productive discussions” with UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
“Reaffirmed strong support for UN-led political process after Geneva setback,” Gargash tweeted. “Will fully support UN proposals for new talks soon.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
The UN envoy has been shuttling between all sides in the devastating civil war that has killed nearly 10,000 people in Yemen since March 2015 in a bid to get peace talks back on track.
Planned negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, broke down on Sept. 8 after rebel delegates refused to show up until receiving guaranteed flights home afterward.
The UAE, Saudi Arabia and their allies have enforced an air-and-sea blockade of rebel-held areas of Yemen since they intervened in March 2015, when Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi fled into exile.
Photo: AFP
On Sept. 9, government and UAE troops resumed their offensive on Hodeida after a brief suspension while the UN attempted to convene peace talks.
The assault on the port city was the trigger for the new peace push.
Hodeida is the point of entry for UN aid shipments and also handles 70 percent of commercial shipping, and the UN warned of a humanitarian catastrophe if the port were put out of use.
Hadi’s government is recognized by the international community even though the rebels control the capital, Sana’a, and much of the north.
The civil war has pushed Yemen, long the Arab world’s poorest country, to the brink of famine.
Human rights groups have said that more than 5 million children face imminent starvation.
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