Eliasson: UN in Negotiation with Saudi Arabia to Lift Blockade on Yemen

Eliasson: UN in Negotiation with Saudi Arabia to Lift Blockade on Yemen
Thu Oct 15, 2015 16:22:51

The United Nations (UN)’s Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson says Saudi Arabia has imposed blockades on impoverished Yemen and the world body has been engaged in talks to end the blockade.

The official made the comments during a Thursday news conference in Geneva, adding that the talks are aimed at opening more ports in Yemen to allow in fuel and other supplies.

He did not specify, however, what individuals, groups or governments the UN has been in talks with over the Saudi blockade.

Yemen has been under military strikes by Saudi Arabia on a daily basis since March 26. The attacks are supposedly meant to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement and restore power to fugitive former Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour, a staunch ally of Riyadh.

For nearly six months, Saudi warships have enforced a strict naval blockade on Yemen. The blockade has hampered aid shipments to the country, which imports 90 percent of its food.

Eliasson, the UN official, expressed hope that the UN-brokered peace talks to end the crisis in Yemen would start by the end of October, while calling on both the Houthi Ansarullah movement and the representatives of Hadi to participate in the negotiations without pre-conditions; Press TV reported.

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