Arab League, UN stress importance of humanitarian truce in Yemen

The Arab League and the UN on Wednesday stressed the importance of concluding a new humanitarian truce in Yemen to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people as soon as possible.

The remarks were made in a joint press conference between UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed and Arab League Deputy Secretary General Ahmed bin Hillia.

After his visit to the pan-Arab organization, the UN envoy said that the targeted humanitarian truce is also meant to prepare the ground for the resumption of negotiations between the Yemeni clashing parties.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has already announced the launch of inclusive consultations starting on 28 May in Geneva to restore momentum towards a Yemeni-led political transition process, Ould Cheikh Ahmed added.

“We have invited all Yemeni parties to join the talks,” he said, pointing out that such critical time requires expedition of action, re-launching the political process, reducing the levels of violence and alleviating the humanitarian situation in Yemen.

Bin Hillia, for his part, stressed the Arab League’s keenness on supporting the mission of Ould Cheikh Ahmed in Yemen.

U.N.-brokered peace talks were suspended when the Houthi militants went on the offensive, capturing Sanaa in September and advancing on Aden, forcing the president to flee into exile in Saudi Arabia.