Yemeni President-in-Exile to Skip UN-Backed Peace Talks
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20...022491641.html
Quote:
Displaced Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi will not attend the UN-backed peace talks on Yemen in Geneva.
CAIRO (Sputnik) — Displaced Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi will not attend the UN-backed peace talks on Yemen, scheduled to start next Thursday in Geneva, the Asharq Al-Awsat Arabic international newspaper reported Saturday.
Yemen has been in a state of turmoil since early 2015 after the Houthi rebels seized large parts of the country, including capital Sanaa.
President Hadi, who fled Yemen as a Saudi-led coalition began conducting airstrikes on the Houthi positions in late March, apologized in a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for not sending his envoys to the conference, the daily reported citing unspecified diplomatic sources in New York.
The president was quoted as saying that the Houthis and forces loyal to former Yemeni leader Ali Abdullah Saleh continue aggressive actions in Yemen while also trying to destabilize neighboring countries.
http://www.sify.com/news/yemen-un-ur...cHcabjfeb.html
Quote:
As the number of civilian casualties in the Yemen conflict tops 1,000, the United Nations human rights office on Friday urged all parties – coalition forces, the Yemeni armed forces, Houthis and other non-State armed groups – to
adhere strictly to their obligations under international law and do all in their power to protect civilians.
At least 1,037 civilians, including 130 women and 234 children, lost their lives in Yemen between 26 March and 20 May, while at least another 2,453 civilians have been injured, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) announced today.
There has also been massive destruction of civilian infrastructure, particularly in Aden and Sadaah, Ccile Pouilly, OHCHR spokesperson told reporters in Geneva. Pouilly said that while the five-day humanitarian pause between 12 May and 17
May provided some respite, there are still reports of ground combat and shelling, and millions remain in need of humanitarian assistance.
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext...13940302000241
Quote:
In a phone conversation on Friday, the two senior diplomats demanded an immediate halt to the Saudi military attacks against Yemen.
They also expressed deep concern over the ongoing killings of defenseless people and the humanitarian situation in Yemen, while throwing their support behind the UN efforts to dispatch relief aid to the war-wracked country and to secure a ceasefire there.
The Iranian and Russian deputy foreign ministers, however, described the planned peace negotiations, which Ismail Ould Sheikh Ahmed, the new UN envoy to Yemen, is planning to hold in Geneva, Switzerland on May 28, as “insufficient” as
Saudi Arabia airstrikes continue against the country.
