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Yemen: GCC calls for pressure on Houthis to engage in peace process

September 13, 2022 at 11:46 am

Nayef al-Hajraf, Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), speaks during the last day of the conference on the conflict in Yemen, hosted by the six-nation GCC in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh on April 7, 2022 [Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images]

The Gulf Cooperation Council called on Monday for the international community to intensify the “pressure” on the Houthi group in Yemen to engage in the peace process and resolve the crisis in the country. The GCC call was made during a meeting in Riyadh between its Secretary General, Nayef Al-Hajraf, and the US Special Envoy to Yemen, Timothy Lenderking.

According to a statement from the GCC, the two officials reviewed international efforts to end the conflict in Yemen. These include the ceasefire agreement announced by the UN Special Envoy to Yemen and the importance of supporting the Presidential Leadership Council to achieve security, peace and stability in the country, as well as development efforts.

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Al-Hajraf affirmed during the meeting the GCC’s support for all UN efforts to promote security, stability and peace in Yemen.

The UN envoy to the war-torn country, Hans Grundberg, announced on 15 August that negotiations are ongoing to reach an expanded ceasefire agreement in Yemen that could end the crisis.

Yemen has been witnessing an ongoing war for more than seven years between forces loyal to the internationally-recognised government, backed by an Arab military coalition led by neighbouring Saudi Arabia, and the Iran-backed Houthi group, which has controlled governorates including the capital, Sanaa, since September 2014.

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