Al-Alimi calls for adopting a new approach to Yemen's crisis

The UN Secretary-General met with H.E. Mr. Rashad Mohammed Al-Alimi, President of the Presidential Leadership Council of the Republic of Yemen.

The Secretary-General commended the constructive engagement of the Government of Yemen in negotiating and implementing the UN-brokered nationwide truce. He called for parties to build on this opportunity to resume an inclusive and comprehensive political process to end the conflict.

They also discussed the humanitarian situation in the country, as well as the importance of addressing accountability in any peace process.

Al-Alimi called on the international community to drastically change its long-standing approach to dealing with his country's years-long crisis. He said during his speech at the general debate of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York that there's a necessity for the international community to adopt a new approach to Yemen's crisis and put an end to the world's worst humanitarian sufferings.

According to the state-run Saba news agency, al-Alimi confirmed the PLC's commitment to the peace option as the only solution to Yemen's deadly conflict.

He blamed Houthi militias for prolonging the conflict, worsening the Yemeni peoples' sufferings by blocking all regional and international peace proposals and efforts.

He urged the international community to support the Yemeni government's efforts to establish peace, saying "there is no better way to help the Yemeni people than sustaining the legitimate government's efforts to establish freedom values, peace and civil co-existence."

Yemen and the Saudi-led Arab coalition accuse Iran of aggravating instability in Yemen by backing and supplying Houthi rebels with weapons, which has been repeatedly denied by both Houthis and Iran.

The Houthi rebels backed by some anti-government army units have been controlling much of Yemen's north by military force, including the capital Sanaa since 2014.

The Yemeni civil war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 4 million, and pushed the country to the brink of starvation.