Source The United Nations
Media www.rajawalisiber.com – The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, on Wednesday (16 Aug) told the Security Council that despite hostilities having not returned to pre-truce levels, “intermittent fighting” continues, and “there have been public threats to return to war.”
Grundberg said, “This rhetoric is not conducive to maintaining a fruitful mediation environment,” and called on the parties “to refrain from escalatory rhetoric and to continue to use and build on dialogue channels established under the truce through the Military Coordination Committee to de-escalate incidents.”
He said, “The fragility of the situation and its impact on Yemeni women and men highlight the urgent need to reach a consensus on the way forward.”
The Special Envoy said, “is working to convene the parties to address some of their immediate priorities to build confidence and move toward an inclusive and sustainable political settlement.”
He noted, “trust levels are low, and partial solutions risk being perceived as reversible and providing only temporary relief.” He also said he continues “to pursue a more comprehensive approach that addresses both the immediate and longer-term political, economic, military and security issues.”
Grundberg condemned the murder of World Food Programme (WFP) staff member Moayad Hameidi in Taiz governorate on 21 July and stressed that “humanitarian workers should never be a target.”
He said, “Any loss of life in humanitarian service is an unacceptable tragedy for the United Nations and the people who benefit from the humanitarian community’s lifesaving assistance.”
The Special Envoy said he was “greatly relieved about the recent release of our five UN colleagues, who were kidnapped in Abyan governorate in February 2022.”