CAIRO, Nov 5 (SEE)- British foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said on Monday he would push for new action at the United Nations Security Council to try to end hostilities in Yemen and find a political solution to the ongoing war.
Yemen, one of the poorest Middle Eastern countries, is locked in a nearly four-year-old war that pits Iran-aligned Houthi rebels against the government backed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the West. The conflict has killed at least 10,000 people and caused the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
Hunt criticized both the Saudi-led coalition and opposition Houthi rebels backed by Iran, saying “For too long, both sides have believed that a military solution is possible in the Yemen conflict. However, it has led to catastrophic consequences for the Yemeni people."
His remarks on Monday appear to presage plans to table a UN security council resolution on the crisis, something the UK has resisted for many months, leading to claims that it is siding too much with the Saudis in the bloody four-year civil war.
The UK is the penholder at the UN over Yemen, and some former Conservative cabinet ministers, notably Andrew Mitchell, say Britain has been protecting Saudi Arabia from criticism.
"Hunt agreed with UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths that the time was right for the Security Council to act and bolster the UN-led process," the Foreign Office said in a statement, without specifying exactly what action Britain would take.
"The action the UK will raise at the UN Security Council will help towards that goal: ensuring that a full ceasefire, when it comes, is fully implemented," the statement said.
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