The United Nations has warned of a possible famine in Yemen in light of the continuing war and the failure of donor countries to fulfill their obligations, while the Swiss city of Geneva is hosting a new round of talks between the Yemeni government and the Houthis on the exchange of prisoners.

During a briefing today, Tuesday, to the UN Security Council on the situation in Yemen, Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations for Humanitarian Affairs, warned of the consequences of the return of famine to this country, which has been witnessing for years a war that has worsened the operations of the Saudi-Emirati coalition.

Lowcock said the hunger-stricken areas in Yemen are those most vulnerable to fighting.

The UN official criticized countries, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, for failing to fulfill the obligations they made to provide funds to the UN agencies concerned with helping the Yemenis, adding that these countries did not provide anything to the United Nations this year on the humanitarian level.

Lowcock said that failure of those countries to abide by their obligations amounts to a death sentence for the Yemenis, adding that those who can protect and help Yemenis do not extend a helping hand.

The UN official indicated that more than 9 million Yemenis have been affected by the increased cuts in aid programs, including food, water and health care.

In a similar briefing to the Security Council, the UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths expressed his concern about the closure of Sanaa airport to humanitarian flights.

Griffiths said that the time has come for the parties to the conflict in Yemen to reach peace and end the war, adding that he sent a detailed draft of the ceasefire agreement to the warring parties in Yemen last week.

He expressed his concern about the ongoing battles in Marib (east of Sanaa) between government forces and the Houthis, noting that the ceasefire violations in the Hodeidah region (west) are still daily.

The exchange of prisoners


Meanwhile, sources told Al-Jazeera that a United Nations plane took off from Aden and another from Sana'a, carrying two delegations from the Yemeni government and the Houthi group to Geneva, Switzerland, to resume talks on the prisoners' file.

A UN source said that the two delegations of the Yemeni government and the Houthis, who were meeting in Jordan, would work during the week-long Geneva talks to finalize an agreement on prisoners.

Griffiths told the UN Security Council that the two parties pledged in Stockholm in 2018 to release prisoners and detainees linked to the conflict, and they continued their discussions to fulfill this commitment in the Jordanian capital, Amman, earlier.

Griffiths expressed his hope that the Geneva meeting would result in the release of some prisoners.

Among the main provisions of the Stockholm Agreement concluded in late 2018 between the Yemeni government and the Houthis under the auspices of the United Nations was the release of thousands of prisoners on both sides, and after the signing of the agreement, there were reports that the two parties exchanged lists of the names of about 15,000 prisoners.