The Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General, Jamal Benomar, is deeply concerned about the continuing violence in Amran and other areas of the North, where the Houthis, other armed groups and Army units are fighting. He profoundly regrets the heavy loss of life over the past days. 

7 July 2014- The Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General, Jamal Benomar, is deeply concerned about the continuing violence in Amran and other areas of the North, where the Houthis, other armed groups and Army units are fighting. He profoundly regrets the heavy loss of life over the past days. 

The Special Adviser calls for the immediate cessation of hostilities, including in Amran where the Houthis are attempting to take control over some locations within the city, and further calls for the existing ceasefire agreement to be restored.

The Special Adviser supports the efforts of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and stresses the need for all parties to work toward a definitive cessation of violence through a political process. He reiterates the need to develop a peace plan for the North through direct negotiations on the basis of the outcomes of the National Dialogue Conference that calls for “disarmament and recovery of State-owned heavy and medium weapons from all parties, groups and individuals that were plundered or seized nationwide, within a specific timeframe and simultaneously”. A peace plan will help to defuse all elements of political and security tensions as well as to enable the State to restore its monopoly on the use of force. 

He calls on all parties to comply with their obligations under applicable international humanitarian and human rights law, and emphasizes the need for all sides to facilitate safe and unhindered humanitarian access to evacuate the wounded and to ensure the delivery of assistance to all populations in need.

Recalling Security Council resolution 2140 (2014) and noting with concern that opportunists continue to fuel the conflict in the North in an attempt to derail the transition and undermine the Government of Yemen, the Special Adviser further calls on all parties to ensure that tensions do not escalate further, leading to more loss of life.