United Nations, United States--The UN Security Council welcomed the five-day humanitarian pause for Yemen that began late Tuesday and urged all sides to respect it.
In a statement, the 15-member council expressed grave concern for the "severe humanitarian consequences" of the months-long violence in Yemen.
"All parties will need to transparently and reliably suspend military operations" for the humanitarian pause to hold, the council members stressed.
The Saudi-initiated truce is intended to allow for desperately-needed deliveries of humanitarian aid after seven weeks of bombing.
Saudi Arabia led a coalition in launching the air war on Yemen on March 26 to stop an advance by Shiite Huthi rebels and restore the authority of exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.
The humanitarian pause went into effect as UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed was in Sanaa for talks on holding a peace conference with all parties.
The council called on all Yemeni parties to attend the talks "without preconditions."
The UN effort to organize a conference has been bogged down by a dispute over the venue, with Saudi Arabia insisting it should be held in the region and other countries including Iran supporting a neutral site.
AFP
