The United States and Britain called on Sunday for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Yemen to end violence between Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition.
The Saudi-led campaign in Yemen has come under heavy criticism since an airstrike on a funeral gathering in the Yemeni capital Sana’a killed 140 people according to a United Nations’ estimate, Reuters reported.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said if Yemen’s opposing sides accepted the ceasefire then the special envoy to the UN, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, would work through the details and announce when and how it would take effect.
“This is the time to implement a ceasefire unconditionally and then move to the negotiating table,” Kerry told reporters.
“We cannot emphasize enough today the urgency of ending the violence in Yemen,” he said after meeting British counterpart, Boris Johnson, and other officials in London.
Kerry said they were calling for the implementation of the ceasefire “as rapidly as possible, meaning Monday, Tuesday”.
The UN’s special envoy said he had been in contact with the Houthi’s lead negotiator and the fugitive president, Abd-Rabbu Mansur Hadi. He also said he hoped for “clearer plans” for a ceasefire in the coming days.
Johnson said the conflict in Yemen was “causing increasing international concern; the fatalities that we’re seeing there are unacceptable”.
“There should be a ceasefire and the UN should lead the way in calling for that ceasefire.”
