Saudis, UAE, Yemen ask UN to pressure Houthis

Yemen’s government, Saudi Arabia and the UAE asked the UN Security Council on Thursday to turn up the pressure on the Houthi militia to uphold a ceasefire deal.

In a letter sent to the council, the three governments accused the Houthis of violating the ceasefire in the port city of Hodeidah 970 times since it came into force on Dec. 18.

They asked the council to “impress upon the Houthis, and their Iranian backers, that they will be held responsible if their continued failure to comply... leads to the collapse of the Stockholm agreement,” said the letter seen by AFP.

Yemen’s Saudi-backed government and the  Houthis agreed to the ceasefire and a redeployment of forces from Hodeidah during UN-brokered talks in Sweden last month.

UAE minister of state for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday to discuss problems in implementing the Stockholm deal.

“We understand that we need to exercise patience, but it can’t be infinite,” Gargash told reporters after this meeting.

Gargash raised concerns of a flareup on the ground, triggered by a Houthi provocation.

“We do not want to launch an offensive” in Hodeidah, said the minister.

“What we want is for the UN and the international community to exert influence and to do that work” and create pressure on the  Houthis to comply with the ceasefire deal, he said.

The council met behind closed doors to hear a report from UN envoy Martin Griffiths who has wrapped up a new round of shuttle diplomacy.

Courtesy : Arab News