UN secretary-general appoints new envoy for Yemen

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday announced the appointment of Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed of Mauritania as his special envoy for Yemen.

According to UN spokesperson's office, Ould Cheikh Ahmed will replace Jamal Benomar to work with UN Security Council and the Gulf Cooperation on the issue of Yemen.

Benomar, who has been acting as a mediator in talks among rival political groups in Yemen since 2011, resigned on April 15 because he "expressed an interest in moving on to another assignment," said a UN spokesman in a note to the reporters.

Ould Cheikh Ahmed is currently Ban's special representative and head of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER).

The UN chief on Saturday also announced the appointment of Peter Jan Graaff of the Netherlands as the acting special representative and head of UNMEER.

Ould Cheikh Ahmed once served as Ban's deputy special representative and deputy head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya. He has also served as the resident coordinator, humanitarian coordinator and United Nations Development Program resident representative in Syria and Yemen.

As the conflict of Yemen enters its fifth week, security and humanitarian situations keep deteriorating. Official UN estimates place the number of civilians killed at more than 1,080 since March 19, plus 4,350 injuries.
Source: XINHUA