UN envoy leaves Yemen amid increasing unrest

UN envoy to Yemen Jamal Benomar today left Sanaa heading for Saudi Arabia, following weeks of unrest in the capital and the country’s failure to name a new head of government.

Benomar wrote on Facebook: “I concluded today, Thursday, 2 October 2014, my thirty-third visit to Yemen. This 3-week visit was not an easy one. as Sana’a witnessed bloody events.”

“Yemen is still in the midst of sensitive and unpredictable times, and the only way forward for the success of the peaceful change project that started in 2011 is the rapid implementation of the Peace and National Partnership Agreement and outcomes of the National Dialogue Conference that Yemenis have agreed on.”

He continued: “I am headed to Saudi Arabia on an official visit and I will continue my efforts to support Yemen in these difficult circumstances.”

The UN envoy sponsored the signing of a “national peace and partnership agreement” between the Ansar Allah group, known as the Houthis, and the rest of the political parties on September 21.

Since the agreement was signed, the Houthis have tightened their grip on the capital Sanaa, and occupied a number of government departments and the state-run television and radio channels.