UN Security Council wants Yemeni ports to remain open despite fighting
                 Source: Xinhua | 2018-06-15 04:08:42 | Editor: huaxia

File Photo: People inspect the ruins of a destroyed building hit by airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, on June 6, 2018. Saudi-led coalition launched a series of airstrikes on the Yemeni capital on June 5, hours after UN special envoy Martin Griffiths left the rebel-held Sanaa following three days of talks. (Xinhua/Mohammed Mohammed)

UNITED NATIONS, June 14 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Security Council on Thursday asked the key Red Sea ports of Hudaydah and Saleef in Yemen to remain open, after forces backed by a Saudi-led military coalition started an assault on Hudaydah, the lifeline for the war-torn country.

"They (members of the Security Council) were united in their deep concerns about the risks to the humanitarian situation, and reiterated their call for the ports of Hudaydah and Saleef to be kept open," Russian ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia, who is president of the council for June, told reporters.

The Security Council members continue to follow the developments closely, he said after closed-door consultations of the council.

Forces loyal to Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, with the backing of the Saudi-led coalition, launched an offensive on Hudaydah on Wednesday in a bid to capture the key port from the hands of Houthi rebels.

A prolonged siege of the city will have catastrophic humanitarian consequences as Hudaydah is the single most important point of entry for imports of food, fuel, medicine and other vital supplies.

More than 22 million people in the war-torn country are in need of humanitarian assistance and over 70 percent of them live in proximity to Hudaydah and Saleef.

The members of the Security Council urged all sides to the conflict to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law, said Nebenzia.

They also expressed their support for the mediation efforts of Martin Griffiths, the UN special envoy for Yemen.

British ambassador to the United Nations Karen Pierce, whose delegation requested the emergency meeting of the Security Council, said that Griffiths was trying to negotiate a retreat of the Houthi rebels from Hudaydah.

"If it is possible for him still to do that, we should back his efforts in doing so," Pierce told reporters before walking into Thursday's consultations.

The Russian ambassador said the council members believe that a political solution is the only way to end the conflict in Yemen.

Griffiths is expected to brief the Security Council on Monday on the latest developments in Yemen, said the Russian ambassador.

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UN Security Council wants Yemeni ports to remain open despite fighting

Source: Xinhua 2018-06-15 04:08:42

File Photo: People inspect the ruins of a destroyed building hit by airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, on June 6, 2018. Saudi-led coalition launched a series of airstrikes on the Yemeni capital on June 5, hours after UN special envoy Martin Griffiths left the rebel-held Sanaa following three days of talks. (Xinhua/Mohammed Mohammed)

UNITED NATIONS, June 14 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Security Council on Thursday asked the key Red Sea ports of Hudaydah and Saleef in Yemen to remain open, after forces backed by a Saudi-led military coalition started an assault on Hudaydah, the lifeline for the war-torn country.

"They (members of the Security Council) were united in their deep concerns about the risks to the humanitarian situation, and reiterated their call for the ports of Hudaydah and Saleef to be kept open," Russian ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia, who is president of the council for June, told reporters.

The Security Council members continue to follow the developments closely, he said after closed-door consultations of the council.

Forces loyal to Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, with the backing of the Saudi-led coalition, launched an offensive on Hudaydah on Wednesday in a bid to capture the key port from the hands of Houthi rebels.

A prolonged siege of the city will have catastrophic humanitarian consequences as Hudaydah is the single most important point of entry for imports of food, fuel, medicine and other vital supplies.

More than 22 million people in the war-torn country are in need of humanitarian assistance and over 70 percent of them live in proximity to Hudaydah and Saleef.

The members of the Security Council urged all sides to the conflict to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law, said Nebenzia.

They also expressed their support for the mediation efforts of Martin Griffiths, the UN special envoy for Yemen.

British ambassador to the United Nations Karen Pierce, whose delegation requested the emergency meeting of the Security Council, said that Griffiths was trying to negotiate a retreat of the Houthi rebels from Hudaydah.

"If it is possible for him still to do that, we should back his efforts in doing so," Pierce told reporters before walking into Thursday's consultations.

The Russian ambassador said the council members believe that a political solution is the only way to end the conflict in Yemen.

Griffiths is expected to brief the Security Council on Monday on the latest developments in Yemen, said the Russian ambassador.

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