US Calls For Expanding Yemen Ceasefire Across Entire City Of Al Hudaydah - Haley

Parties to the conflict in Yemen should expand the cessation of hostilities to cover the entire city of Al Hudaydah, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told the Security Council on Friday.

NEW YORK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th December, 2018) Parties to the conflict in Yemen should expand the cessation of hostilities to cover the entire city of Al Hudaydah, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told the Security Council on Friday.

"The next step is to expand the ceasefire to include the entire city of Hudaydah," Haley said. "We call on all the parties to take this step and to show the world they are serious about achieving peace in Yemen."

On Thursday, Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffith announced that the sides to the Yemeni conflict had reached an agreement on a governorate-wide ceasefire in the port city of Al Hudaydah after the UN-led consultations in Sweden. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres participated in the talks as well.

Earlier, Griffith, as well as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark, Lowcock briefed the Security Council about the agreements reached in Sweden.

From December 6, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths has engaged the two Yemeni conflicting parties in talks in the Swedish capital of Stockholm.

Yemen has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government forces led by President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi and the Houthi rebels for several years. The Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request since March 2015.

The conflict escalated this summer in the region of Al Hudaydah, Yemen's largest port, disrupting humanitarian supplies to the country and putting half of its population at risk of starvation.