UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths still hopes to see the Houthi delegation in Geneva for consultations on Yemen and continues efforts to facilitate their arrival from Sanaa, the United Nations said Thursday.
GENEVA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th September, 2018) UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths still hopes to see the Houthi delegation in Geneva for consultations on Yemen and continues efforts to facilitate their arrival from Sanaa, the United Nations said Thursday.
On Wednesday, the Houthi movement said that their delegation could not leave the city of Sanaa due to the lack of a permission from the Saudi-led coalition, which controls Yemeni airspace. The coalition has not granted the plane permission to return safely yet, according to the Houthis. However, coalition spokesman Turki Maliki said it gave the green-light to the plane of the Houthi delegation to depart for the talks, but the rebels did not use the opportunity.
"He was hopeful to see Sanaa Delegation present to expedite the political process. He continues to make efforts to overcome obstacles to allow the consultations to go forward," the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen (OSESGY) said in a published statement.
Griffiths thanked the government of Yemen and the Saudi-led coalition for the convening of the consultations, the statement added.
"He acknowledged the efforts made by the Government of Yemen and the Coalition to facilitate the convening of these consultations," OSESG said.
Earlier in the day, A UN source told Sputnik that the organization had been working since Wednesday to ensure the arrival of the Houthi delegation. The source said the situation might be resolved at any moment.
Consultations on Yemen in Geneva were set to start on Thursday and are to focus on reactivating the peace process in the country and confidence-building measures, such as the exchange of prisoners. The consultations in Geneva are expected to bring together the parties to the ongoing Yemeni conflict.
Yemen is engulfed in an armed conflict between the government headed by Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Houthi movement, also known as Ansar Allah. The Saudi-led coalition of mostly Persian Gulf nations has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request since March 2015. A recent report by the UN experts suggested that all parties to the conflict may have been involved in war crimes.
