15th June, 2015
United Nations Secretary Ban Ki-moon, on Monday in Geneva, urged all warring sides in the Yemen conflict to silence their weapons during the Ramadan fasting.
He said that pausing the conflicts during Ramadan, which would start on Thursday, would allow humanitarian aid to reach the population.
Ban said that the silence moment had become necessary because there was no single moment to lose with the negotiations.
The UN Chief presented a three-point proposal in Geneva before he left.
Ban urged the conflict parties to agree to local ceasefires and the withdrawal of armed groups from cities, paving the way to a lasting truce.
He also called for a peaceful political transition process that includes a wide political spectrum.
Ban warned that in Yemen’s case, the ticking clock was not a time piece, but a time bomb.
The UN Chief announced that delegates from Sana’a, including the Houthi rebels, would reach Geneva within the day, but he had to leave before their arrival.
He therefore handed the talks over to Ismail Cheikh- Ahmed, UN Yemen Envoy.
Ban said that given the deep divisions between the parties, Cheikh- Ahmed was set to meet separately with both sides at first, with the aim of getting them to sit at one table.
A report from Geneva noted that the UN-brokered peace talks to end the conflict in Yemen got off to a bumpy start.
It said that this was because Ban met only with representatives of the exiled government, while the arrival of rebels was delayed because of logistical reasons.