UN envoy Martin Griffiths
The Yemeni government has agreed to take part in upcoming UN-brokered peace talks in Sweden, according to a UN official.
In a statement, Martin Griffiths, the UN’s envoy for Yemen, said that a Yemeni government delegation would be sent to the talks with a view to reaching a political solution to the country’s ongoing crisis.
The government, for its part, has stressed the importance of pressing Yemen’s Houthi rebel group to refrain from setting any preconditions and to distance itself from attempts to disrupt the talks.
Last Friday, Griffiths announced that Yemen’s warring parties had confirmed that they would take part in the peace talks in Sweden.
A Canada-based author has said that the Jamal Khashoggi incident highlighted the crisis in Yemen.In an interview to Anadolu Agency, Patricia Leidl, strategist collaborator with the Global Reporting Center, said: “Just over 15 years ago, all member states of the United Nations came together to endorse a new doctrine known as the Responsibility to Protect (R2P). But, it has been never properly utilized. If ever there were a responsibility to protect, Yemen would certainly qualify.”Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist working for The Washington Post, was killed shortly after he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul Oct. 2.Saudi Arabia had offered shifting explanations for Khashoggi's disappearance before suggesting he was killed during a botched operation by rogue agents.His body has yet to be returned to his family amid reports that it was chemically dissolved.Leidl, who has authored "The Hillary Doctrine: Sex and American Foreign Policy", drew parallels between Khasshogi's killing, the Yemen crisis, and the global arms deal.Saudi king backs political solutions in Yemen, Syria“Donald Trump himself stated that his government will be unwilling to act against Saudi Arabia precisely because of the arms deal. That is the first time any president of the United States explicitly stated that his government would not intervene because they wanted to protect arms trade. It is unprecedented and only reveals to what extent U.S. foreign policy has been corrupted by this shadow industry.” She added that other countries also continue to trade arms with Saudi Arabia.“So far as my own country is concerned, and despite an otherwise enlightened foreign policy, Canada’s 12-billion deal to sell light armored vehicles to Saudi Arabia is likely to go ahead.Khashoggi case: Germany slaps travel ban on 18 Saudis“Prime Minister of Canada cited the 1-billion-dollar price tag to rescind the deal as the reason why.”Impoverished Yemen has remained wracked by violence since 2014, when Shia Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including capital Sanaa.The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-Arab allies -- who accuse the Houthis of serving as proxies for Shia Iran -- launched a massive air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.The violence has devastated Yemen’s infrastructure, including water and sanitation systems, prompting the UN to describe the situation as “one of the worst humanitarian disasters of modern times”.Yemeni Houthis halt missile attacks on Saudi coalition
'Khashoggi incident highlighted Yemen crisis'
Griffiths’ announcement came after David Beasley, the head of the UN's World Food Program (WFP), briefed reporters on Yemen’s dire humanitarian situation.
“The country isn’t on the brink of catastrophe,” Beasley said at a news conference. “It is already facing a catastrophe.”
According to the WFP, some 18 million people in Yemen are “food insecure”, while another 12 to 14 million are “severely food insecure”.
"These people are literally marching toward the brink of starvation," Beasley said.
Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz on Monday reiterated support for reaching political solutions to the conflicts in Yemen and Syria.In a speech to the Shura Council, a top advisory body, the monarch said the oil-rich kingdom would continue its efforts to resolve regional crises.“Our stand with Yemen was not an option but a duty to support the Yemeni people against the Iran-backed putschist militias,” he said.Yemen has remained wracked by violence since 2014, when Shia Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including capital Sanaa.The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-Arab allies -- who accuse the Houthis of serving as proxies for Shia Iran -- launched a massive air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.The Saudi king also called for reaching a political solution that help “cruise Syria out of its crisis, push away terrorist groups and allow the repatriation of Syrian refugees.”The king’s speech was his first public comments since the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi last month.Khashoggi, a frequent contributor to The Washington Post, was killed shortly after he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul Oct. 2.Saudi Arabia had offered shifting explanations for Khashoggi's disappearance before suggesting he was killed during a botched rendition operation by rogue agents.So far, 21 people, including security officers, have been arrested in Saudi Arabia in connection with the murder.Top security official shot dead in Yemen’s AdenTurkey says Khashoggi killers may have taken body parts out of countrySaudi Arabia defies US pressure to end Qatar row after Khashoggi killingSaudi account of Khashoggi killing 'unsatisfying'
Saudi king backs political solutions in Yemen, Syria
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have announced a halt to missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) upon a request from UN peace envoy Martin Griffiths.“After our contacts with the UN envoy and his request to stop drone and missile strikes ... We announce our initiative ... to halt missile and drone strikes on the countries of aggression,” Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, the head of the rebel group’s Supreme Revolutionary Committee, said in a statement on Monday.He said initiative came “to undermine any justification for continuing the aggression or blockade”.The Houthi leader said the Shia group was ready to cease all military operations for reaching a “just and honorable peace” if the Saudi-led coalition was willing to.Yemen’s Houthis say they are ready for ceasefire if Saudi-led coalition isThere was no comment from the Saudi-led military coalition on the Houthi move.Impoverished Yemen has remained wracked by violence since 2014, when Shia Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including capital Sanaa.The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-Arab allies -- who accuse the Houthis of serving as proxies for Shia Iran -- launched a massive air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.The following year, UN-sponsored peace talks in Kuwait failed to end the destructive conflict.The violence has devastated Yemen’s infrastructure, including water and sanitation systems, prompting the UN to describe the situation as “one of the worst humanitarian disasters of modern times”.
Yemen rebels halt missile attacks on Saudi, UAE