CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd February, 2020) UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths has arrived in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Sunday to hold talks with the Houthi rebel movement on reducing the military escalation between the warring parties, a local diplomatic source told Sputnik.
During his second visit to Yemen in the course of one week, Griffiths will discuss de-escalation measures with the Houthis group leadership after the resumption of armed clashes in the provinces of Al Jawf and Marib in the country's northeast, the source said.
According to the source, the UN special envoy is also "putting pressure on the warring parties to hold a new round of crisis settlement talks."
Griffiths also intends to discuss the situation around prisoners' exchange and preparations for the launch of direct flights from Sana'a International Airport to Cairo and Amman to transport citizens in need of treatment to Egypt and Jordan. The medical air bridge is expected to be launched on Monday.
A new wave of escalation started in late January, which resulted in civilian casualties, On January 19, medical staff at a local Yemeni hospital said that 80 people were killed and dozens more injured in a missile attack on a Yemeni army camp in the country's northeast.
The conflict in Yemen has been described by the United Nations as the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with nearly 80 percent of the population currently in need of aid and protection.
