UN chief calls for immediate ceasefire in Yemen
Reuters, United Nations :
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday called for an immediate halt to the fighting in Yemen, the first time he has made such an appeal since Saudi-led air strikes against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels began three weeks ago.
Ban said the poorest country in the Middle East was already in a crisis before the recent outbreak of hostilities, with levels of food insecurity that were higher than in the poorest parts of Africa. He said the recent fighting had only exacerbated those problems.
“That is why I am calling for an immediate ceasefire in Yemen by all the parties,” Ban said in a speech to the National Press Club in Washington. “The Saudis have assured me that they understand that there must be a political process. I call on all Yemenis to participate in good faith.”
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday called for an immediate halt to the fighting in Yemen, the first time he has made such an appeal since Saudi-led air strikes against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels began three weeks ago.
Ban said the poorest country in the Middle East was already in a crisis before the recent outbreak of hostilities, with levels of food insecurity that were higher than in the poorest parts of Africa. He said the recent fighting had only exacerbated those problems.
“That is why I am calling for an immediate ceasefire in Yemen by all the parties,” Ban said in a speech to the National Press Club in Washington. “The Saudis have assured me that they understand that there must be a political process. I call on all Yemenis to participate in good faith.”
