UNITED NATIONS, March 22 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday welcomed the Saudi Arabia initiative to end the conflict in Yemen, his spokesman said.
"We welcome today's (Monday's) announcement by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of its intention to undertake a number of measures to help end the conflict in Yemen, which align with the UN's initiative," said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for Guterres. "We also welcome Saudi support for UN efforts."
UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths has been working to secure a nationwide ceasefire, opening Sana'a airport to civilian air traffic, allowing additional fuel and commodities to enter Hodeidah Port and resuming a political process to end the conflict.
"There is no doubt that every effort must be made to end the conflict in Yemen and address the suffering of the Yemeni people and the United Nations looks forward to continuing its work with the parties to achieve this goal," Haq said.
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan told reporters that the initiative includes a comprehensive ceasefire across Yemen under UN supervision, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.
The proposal also ensures the deposit of taxes and customs revenues for ships carrying oil derivatives to the port of Hodeidah into a joint account of the Central Bank of Yemen in Hodeidah.
The spokesman said the UN humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, David Gressly, visited Marib over the weekend to see the growing humanitarian impact of renewed hostilities. He met with local authorities, including the governor, and with humanitarian partners working on the ground.
Gressly also visited two displacement sites, meeting with internally displaced people and community members, the spokesman said. There are up to 15,000 displaced people in Marib since fighting escalated early last month. Many of them live in precarious conditions.
So far, the United Nations and partners Humanitarian Response Plan received only 374 million U.S. dollars of the required aid funds, just 10 percent of their goal, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Enditem
