The UN believes that Yemen is at a “crucial juncture” to achieve an end to the war

18 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –

The United Nations special envoy in Yemen, Hans Grundberg, explained to the Security Council that the situation in Yemen is at a “crucial juncture” to achieve peace after almost a decade of conflict.

“Yemen is experiencing the longest period of relative calm so far in this ruinous war. Food, gasoline and other commercial shipments continue to arrive at Al Hudaydah, and commercial aircraft continue to fly between Sana’a International Airport and Amman,” he celebrated. the representative.

Speaking with the Council through a videoconference, Grundberg has reiterated that “we have not seen such a serious opportunity to make progress in seeking to end the conflict in eight years”, although he has warned that “the situation could still turn around unless countries take more determined steps towards peace”.

In the last week, the exchange of prisoners between the Yemeni government and the Huthi insurgency was successfully completed, which lasted three days and included nearly 900 former detainees. This is further proof that negotiation can be useful, the UN representative has assured.

He also recalled that, although the truce is being an effective tool, it is only a temporary measure to seek a definitive end to the conflict: “If both parties allow this moment to pass without reaching an agreement, it will be really unfortunate.”

The war in Yemen has ended up plunging what was one of the poorest countries in the world into the worst humanitarian catastrophe at present, according to the United Nations. More than 21 million Yemenis – two thirds of the population – will need humanitarian aid this year and 17 million of them will need to receive it urgently to survive.

The conflict has left almost 380,000 dead -more than 85,000 of them children-, either due to the fighting or hunger and disease, to which four million displaced people must be added, according to data considered by the agencies of the UN.