Sweden To Mediate Peaceful Settlement Of Yemeni Crisis Amid Recent Tensions - Minister

Muhammad Irfan Published August 30, 2019 | 04:24 PM

Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom will visit several Gulf states in an effort to mediate the peaceful settlement of the Yemeni crisis amid the recent escalation of tensions in the war-torn country, the Swedish Foreign Ministry said on Friday

STOCKHOLM (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th August, 2019) Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom will visit several Gulf states in an effort to mediate the peaceful settlement of the Yemeni crisis amid the recent escalation of tensions in the war-torn country, the Swedish Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

"Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom will visit Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Jordan from August 31 - September 4 to hold a range of meetings dedicated to bilateral and regional issues with a focus on the crisis in Yemen," the statement read.

The trip comes amid an ongoing conflict between Yemeni government troops and the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC), former allies in the operation against the Houthi movement. On Thursday, the Yemeni Defense Ministry said that the United Arab Emirates, accused by the Yemeni authorities of supporting the southern separatists, had carried out airstrikes in the provinces of Aden and Abyan, leaving at least 300 casualties among servicemen and civilians, with government troops forced out of Aden and other nearby settlements that had recently been recaptured.

Wallstorm is also planning to meet with UN officials to discuss the situation in the region.

"We have to stick to the fragile deal reached in Stockholm, and we feel our responsibility for that. We were the hosts and made our own contribution to the talks, the conflicting sides trust us, and this is our responsibility to ensure the implementation of the agreement," the minister told the Sveriges Radio.

The armed conflict in Yemen between government forces, led by President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi, and the Houthis has been ongoing since 2011. It peaked in 2015 when the Saudi-led coalition joined the military action in support of the government.

In December 2018, Yemen's warring sides signed the Stockholm peace accord in the Swedish capital. Under the deal, the Yemeni government and the Houthis agreed to a ceasefire in the key port city of Al Hudaydah, which had seen months of heavy fighting between the rival forces.