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UN envoy to Yemen says peace plan gains more acceptance

August 5, 2015 at 10:36 am

A spokesman for the United Nations said on Tuesday that the organisation’s envoy to Yemen believes that there is growing acceptance among the warring parties for his plan to end the four-month conflict. UN-sponsored talks in June between Houthi rebels and supporters of President Hadi’s government failed to end the war, in which around 2,000 civilians have been killed.

The crisis escalated between the two sides in late March when a Saudi-led Arab coalition launched a campaign of airstrikes against Houthi rebels and their allies.

Spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said that UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed met with the secretary-general of the General People’s Congress (GPC) during a visit to Cairo, and Nabil Elaraby, the secretary-general of the Arab League.

“He feels that his plan is gaining more and more acceptance among the parties,” Fawzi explained. “Riyadh has indicated a positive reaction towards the plan and the GPC is considering it positively.”

The five days of talks in Geneva produced agreement in principle on a ceasefire and the withdrawal of all armed forces, but the talks broke up before a final deal could be agreed.