New York [US], June 15 (ANI): India on Tuesday (local time) asserted for Yemeni-led and Yemeni-owned peacefully negotiated settlement to the conflict between them (Yemen) and the Houthis.
Speaking at the briefing on the situation in Yemen, A Amarnath, Counsellor in India’s Permanent Mission to UN said, “Yemeni-led and Yemeni-owned political process, with meaningful participation of women, must commence parallelly with the goal of achieving an inclusive and peacefully negotiated settlement to the conflict.”
The conflict between Yemeni Government forces, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, and the Houthis began in 2015, a few months after the rebels took over the capital, Sana’a.
An extension of the truce between the Government in Yemen and Houthi rebels was announced for an additional two months. The UN-brokered truce began on April 2 and was extended for an additional two months.
India welcomed the agreement between the parties to the conflict to renew the ceasefire for additional two months.
“The opening of the Sanaa airport has brought immense relief to many Yemenis. The transitional roadmap is the sine qua non for securing peace in Mali. The ceasefire has also enabled the humanitarian agencies to scale up and deliver aid to areas that were hitherto inaccessible,” said Amarnath.
However, the economic and humanitarian situation in Yemen continues to face significant challenges, which include a lack of funding for aid operations.
“International community must continue its support to the Government of Yemen to help them overcome these challenges. Full, equal and meaningful implementation of all measures agreed as part of the truce agreement is necessary,” said the Indian Counsellor.
He further stated that immediate progress in opening the roads in all governorates is not only a humanitarian imperative but also extremely important to ensure that the implementation of the truce agreement is not lopsided.
“Smooth functioning of the Military Coordination Committee, coordinated by the UN Special Envoy, IS necessary to help any further escalation,” added Amarnath.
Meanwhile, the condition of FSO SAFER continues to pose an environmental, humanitarian, and maritime threat.
“We appreciate Saudi Arabia’s and US’s pledges for the UN operational plan to combat this threat and also welcome UN’s crowd-funding campaign to bridge the funding gap,” said Amarnath.
He reiterated that India will support a robust and inclusive political situation, which fully respects Yemen’s unity, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. (ANI)