UN Chief Cautions about Regional Repercussions of Crisis in Yemen
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said two weeks of Saudi-led air strikes against Houthi fighters in Yemen, and Houthis' advances "have turned an internal political crisis into a violent conflict that risks deep and long-lasting regional repercussions".
Ban Ki-moon on Thursday told reporters that he was urging all countries in the region to go beyond national priorities and help the Yemeni people, saying "the last thing the region and our world need is more of the chaos and crimes we have seen in Libya and Syria".
He has called on all parties to the conflict to allow the delivery of badly needed aid, after the World Health Organisation said on Wednesday that at least 643 civilians and combatants have been killed, and 2,200 injured.
Tens of thousands of families have also been displaced and the WHO has warned that the situation in the Arabian Peninsula nation is critical.
Ban said UN-led talks are the best solution, Al Jazeera reported.
Ban's comments came after Houthi fighters, backed by supporters of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, entered the provincial capital of the Shabwa province in eastern Yemen, despite the intense Saudi-led air strikes against the group.
Residents said local tribal chiefs and security officials facilitated the entry of the Houthi forces to the city of Ataq on Thursday, where they took control of the offices of the local government and security forces compounds.
It was the first time that the Houthis and their allies had entered the city, bringing them closer to the country's most prized economic asset, the Belhaf natural gas facility and export terminal, on the Arabian Sea about 160 km to the southeast.