Ethiopia premier calls on Yemenis to embrace dialogue

By Addis Getachew

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AA) - Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Tuesday called on Yemenis to embrace dialogue for restoration of peace in their country.

“You should agree and disagree without bloodshed and wars as the people of one home,” Ahmed said in a statement.

“Plan your growth and progress, and keep up with the civilization that you were once at the forefront of,” he added.

The Ethiopian prime minister said war cannot bring anything positive to the Yemeni people but only brings destruction.

Yemen has been wracked by violence since 2014, when the Houthi rebel group overran much of the country and the crisis escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.

Tens of thousands of people, including civilians, are believed to have been killed and the UN estimates that around 14 million Yemenis are at risk of famine.