United Nations General Secretary Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg urged on Monday all parties in Yemen to show restraint, engage in dialogue, and take practical steps to ease the suffering of the people.
He made his remarks in a statement after visiting Oman and Bahrain and in wake of threats by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels to put on trial dozens of UN staff on charges of espionage.
Grundberg’s tour is part of his “ongoing efforts to engage the parties to the conflict and the region to advance a negotiated political settlement in Yemen,” continued the statement.
He “reiterated in all his engagements the demand for an immediate end to the arbitrary detention by the Houthis of UN personnel, underscoring that their detention complicates the UN’s ability to carry out its humanitarian work and hinders efforts to advance peace in Yemen.”
Grundberg emphasized that the current regional context offers an opportunity for renewed efforts toward de-escalation and dialogue in support of Yemen’s peace process.
Grundberg held talks with senior Omani officials, the Houthis' chief negotiator Mohamed Abdel Salam, and Iranian deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi in Muscat. He met in Bahrain with officials from the Yemeni internationally recognized government, including Foreign Minister Shaya Zindani, and Lt. Gen. Sagheer Aziz, Chief of the General Staff of the Yemeni Armed Forces, as well as regional and international partners