Yemen .. Security Council calls "transitional" to retreat from self-management and return to the Riyadh agreement

The UN Security Council called on the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council to reverse any measures that challenge Yemen's legitimacy, sovereignty, unity, and safety, while UN envoy Martin Griffiths spoke of progress toward establishing a ceasefire in the country.

In a session held on Thursday, via closed-circuit television, the Security Council called on the Yemeni government and the Transitional Council to ease military tensions and return to the Riyadh agreement signed under Saudi patronage last November.

He stressed the need for workers in the field of relief and medical aid to arrive in Yemen with the escalation of the Corona outbreak in the country.

For his part, the Yemeni delegate to the United Nations, Abdullah Al-Saadi, described the announcement of the Transitional Council of self-administration in southern Yemen as a reckless step and a clear rejection of the Riyadh agreement.

He said in a speech during the session that this announcement is an extension of an armed rebellion that the Transitional Council started in August 2019.

The Security Council session comes as battles continue between the Yemeni government forces and the militants of the Transitional Council in Abyan, about three weeks after the UAE-backed council announced what it called self-management in the southern governorates, a move that the internationally recognized government described as a coup.

Griffiths called on the Yemeni parties to exercise restraint and intensify efforts for the urgent implementation of the Riyadh Agreement.

He also called on the Yemeni government and the Houthis to quickly agree on his proposals for peace in the country, including the establishment of a comprehensive ceasefire.

He said that significant progress was made in the negotiations aimed at establishing a ceasefire throughout Yemen, without providing details in this regard.

The UN envoy pointed out that there are differences between the two parties on humanitarian and economic measures, noting that these measures are necessary to assist Yemen in facing the spread of the Corona virus.

The Saudi-Emirati coalition announced last month a unilateral ceasefire, but military operations continued by land and air.

The Security Council and the UN envoy called for a cessation of hostilities in Yemen to make way for efforts to address the spread of epidemics in the country, while the death toll is increasing.

To date, 86 cases of coronavirus have been announced, 13 of them have died in all of Yemen, while the temporary capital of Aden is witnessing an outbreak of several epidemics. 

The number of deaths in Aden has increased significantly since the beginning of this month due to the outbreak of dengue, malaria and chikungunya (a mosquito-borne viral disease), as well as the spread of Corona virus, where 41 cases of the virus were recorded in the city, of which five cases died.

The head of the Civil Status Authority in Aden said that the number of deaths in the city due to these diseases reached more than six hundred since the beginning of this month.

The medical authorities confirmed that most of these cases were caused by illnesses and epidemics left by the flood disaster that hit the city recently.

For its part, the "Doctors Without Borders" organization in Yemen said in a series of tweets on Twitter that although the Yemeni authorities have announced that there are a few dozen infections with the Corona virus, it is impossible to confirm the number of infections and the true prevalence rate due to the very limited capabilities of the corona examination.