UN envoy to Yemen begins new tour to revive peace efforts

The United Nations envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed on Sunday began a new tour which will include Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Oman in a bid to revive peace efforts and put an end to the escalating conflict in Yemen.

Ould Cheikh Ahmed arrived in the Saudi capital, Riyadh only one hour after the departure of Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and Foreign Minister Abdulmalik Al-Mekhlafi to Aden.

Observers say Ahmed has slim chances to succeed given the huge gap between the UN proposals and that of the Yemeni government and its Arab allies. There is, besides, a noticeable absence of a clear US position on the conflict during the transitional period leading to the administration of president-elect, Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, the Yemeni military said it had killed 50 Houthi militants and allied forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh during the past 24 hours in Hajja province near the Saudi border.

The media centre of the Fifth Military region said in a statement posted on Facebook on Sunday that “22 members of the Houthi and Saleh militias were killed and 17 others were injured in an attack by the Arab coalition and the national army during clashes north-east of Medi City in the province of Hajjah over the past 24 hours”.

“Additionally, 12 militiamen were killed and 14 others were injured when the Arab coalition and national army bombed a meeting of field leaders in the border area during the same period”, it added.

According to the statement, the coalition also attacked a Houthi training camp killing 16 militants.