UN special envoy to return to Yemen as fighting rages
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon has condemned the latest clashes between Houthi fighters and the presidential guard in Yemen's capital Sanaa and called for an end to the hostilities and immediate restoration of order.
Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters that UN special envoy to Yemen Jamal Benomar, who was in Qatar, is on his way back to Yemen.
"The Secretary-General is gravely concerned about the deteriorating situation in Yemen," the UN press office said in a statement. "He deplores the heavy fighting between Ansarallah (Houthi) armed groups and Yemeni presidential guards throughout Sanaa."
The United Nations Security Council held a special meeting on the situation in Yemen. A diplomat at the closed-door session said on condition of anonymity that Benomar told the 15-nation body by video link that only the presidential guard was fighting and the Houthis had persuaded other military units not to fight them.
Another diplomat at the meeting confirmed Benomar's remarks.
Without giving details, Benomar said in Arabic on Twitter and Facebook that some media had cited incorrect information about his Security Council briefing.
Reuters