BICOM

British diplomats have submitted a new plan to the UN Security Council for a ceasefire in Yemen.

The resolution calls on Yemen’s internationally recognised government and Houthi Shiite rebels to enter peace negotiations and agree a cease-fire in the strategic port of Hodeida. The proposal also calls for a two-week deadline for both the Iran-aligned Houthis and the Saudi Arabia-led collation to remove all barriers to aid delivery and distribution.

The war in Yemen has lasted three years and killed 10,000 people. In recent weeks, fighting in Hodeida has escalated. Despite talk of a ceasefire, air strikes resumed and fighting continued on the ground. Hodeida port, currently controlled by Houthi forces, is the entry point for 70 per cent of Yemen’s commercial goods, humanitarian aid and supplies of food, water, fuel and medicine. The UK plan focuses on the need to halt fighting in Hodeida and calls on the Houthis “to allow urgent deliveries of assistance and flows of lifesaving commercial imports.” The resolution calls on the parties “to cease all attacks on densely populated civilian areas across Yemen” and to halt missile and drone attacks “against regional countries and maritime areas.”

The UN Special Envoy for Yemen told the Security Council that “this is a crucial moment for Yemen… I have received firm assurances from the leadership of the Yemeni parties … that they are committed to attending these consultations. I believe they are genuine.” David Beasley, the head of the UN World Food Program, visited Yemen last week and told the Security Council on Friday that 12 million of the 28 million Yemenis “are just one step away from famine.”

Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt urged Iranian leaders to push the Houthis to the negotiating table. He said” “We are very, very keen to move towards peace in Yemen. That’s our number one priority at the moment,” Mr Hunt said after meeting Iranian Foreign Minister Javid Zarif in Tehran.

Jeremy Hunt met last week with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and, according to CNN, Salman “threw a fit” about the Yemen resolution. Several sources have suggested that the Crown Prince wants to see military victory in Yemen, signalling that he will work to block the resolution.

The Saudi led coalition allied with the government has been fighting the Houthis, backed by Iran since 2015. Saudi airstrikes have hit schools, hospitals and wedding parties and killed thousands of Yemeni civilians. The Houthis have fired long-range missiles into Saudi Arabia and targeted vessels in the Red Sea. If the Saudi’s agree to the resolution it could prove to be a turning point in peace efforts as it would end the direct threat to Saudi Arabia.