Martin Griffiths, center, the UN special envoy for Yemen, arrives at Sanaa international airport in Sanaa, July 16, 2019. /VCG Photo
The United Nations special envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths on Thursday called on warring parties to cease hostilities while signs of hope are appearing.
"With signs of hope appearing on the horizon in Yemen, warring parties must cease hostilities, facilitate food and fuel distribution and relaunch talks aimed at ending the world's most severe humanitarian crisis," Griffiths told a Security Council meeting on the situation in Yemen via video teleconference from Riyadh.
"Today we have some positive indications," said Griffiths, referring to military and political shifts on the part of both the government and the various factions challenging it since 2015.
Among those fragile signs of hope, he cited the parties' stronger willingness to engage, progress in facilitating the movement of much needed oil supplies and a tenuous calm in the port city of Aden.
Yemeni prisoners, said to belong the Saudi-backed government forces, react following their release by the Houthi rebels from the central prison in the capital Sanaa, September 30, 2019. /VCG Photo
While at times he had lost hope, he told the Security Council that there are reasons for optimism for the people of Yemen.
Talks continue in Saudi Arabia and there are encouraging signs that an agreement will be reached to resolve an impasse between the government and Southern Transitional Council (STC).
Welcoming a visible reduction in air strikes since the beginning of October, he also hailed the release of 290 detainees by Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthi rebels, and invited the parties to meet with UN officials to accelerate all elements of the December 2018 Stockholm Agreement.
However, the envoy cautioned that such progress remains fragile, requiring diligent care, and that the country's humanitarian situation is still dire.
"Let's be under no illusion about the challenges and the difficulties ahead," he noted.