UN envoy in Sanaa for Yemen cease-fire talks

By Murad al-Arifi

SANAA (AA) – UN envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths arrived Monday in Sanaa for talks aimed at halting military escalations in the coastal city of Al-Hudaydah.

An official source at Sanaa International Airport, who preferred to be unnamed, said the UN envoy arrived in the Houthi-held city from Jordanian capital Amman.

Monday’s visit comes two weeks after a similar trip, during which he met with a host of Houthi leaders for talks aimed at solving the four-year conflict in the Arab country.

Last week, Griffiths held talks in Aden with Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi and Prime Minister Ahmed Ben Dagher.

The UN has recently stepped up its diplomatic efforts to avert the repercussions of a military offensive launched by Yemeni government forces, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, to recapture Al-Hudaydah from Houthi rebels.

On Sunday, the United Arab Emirates (UARE) said the Saudi-led coalition has temporarily halted the Al-Hudaydah military campaign to achieve an “unconditional withdrawal” of Houthi rebels from the province.

Impoverished Yemen has remained wracked by violence since 2014, when the Houthis overran much of the country, including capital Sanaa.

The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-Arab allies -- who accuse the Shia Houthis of serving as Iranian proxies -- launched a massive air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.