Yemen

Houthi negotiators left Riyadh after a five-day round of talks with Saudi officials on a potential agreement that could pave the way to ending the conflict in Yemen, sources familiar with the meeting and Houthi media have said.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels will head to Saudi Arabia amid efforts to negotiate a permanent ceasefire to end the long-running war in Yemen, according to a Houthi official and reports quoting diplomatic and government sources.

The specialist team that safely stabilized and transferred over one million barrels of crude oil from a decaying supertanker off the cost of Yemen, left the site on Monday, marking the end of a pivotal chapter in the UN-led operation to prevent a potentially disastrous oil spill in the Red Sea.

In briefings to the Security Council on Wednesday, two senior UN officials highlighted the need for progress towards peace in war-torn Yemen amid ongoing political, economic and humanitarian challenges.  UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg provided an update on his mediation efforts, both in the country and abroad, while Edem Wosornu of the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, reported on access impediments and funding gaps affecting aid delivery to millions.

All ‘five colleagues’ who were kidnapped 18 months ago are in good health, spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres says.

The top UN humanitarian official in Yemen on Saturday called for justice in the wake of the recent attack against World Food Programme (WFP) staff that left one person dead and another injured. 

[…] Unanimously adopting resolution 2691 (2023), the 15-nation organ decided to extend that mandate, as contained in resolution 2643 (2022), and requested the Secretary-General to report to the Council on a monthly basis on progress regarding the implementation of today’s resolution.

The parties to the conflict in Yemen must immediately stop military provocations and agree to a sustainable nationwide ceasefire, address economic priorities and restart an intra-Yemeni political process under United Nations auspices, the Organization’s senior official for that country told the Security Council today, as he spotlighted positive developments and urged members to encourage the parties to work along the path he outlined.

The food security situation in Yemen’s government-controlled districts “slightly improved” during the first five months of this year, but acute malnutrition is on the rise, UN agencies warned in a new report released on Friday.

Warring parties continue to make progress in efforts towards ending the nearly decade-long conflict in Yemen, though outstanding issues remain, the UN Security Council heard on Wednesday.