DHAKA: Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the UN special envoy to Yemen, has arrived in Yemen’s capital Sana’a in a bid to arrange a pause in fighting until the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on July 17, to allow for deliveries of humanitarian aid.

The visit by Ould Cheikh Ahmed, who arrived on Sunday for talks with the Houthis and their allies, comes amid amid continuing violence, including a deadly attack on a market in northern Yemen, according to a Houthi news agency, reports Al Jazeera.

Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul Salam said in a post on his Facebook page that he had met Ould Cheikh Ahmed on Friday in Muscat, Oman’s capital, in a meeting attended by the ambassadors of the European Union and Germany.

Political sources in Muscat said Arab forces had demanded guarantees that the Houthis and allied army units would not use any pause during Ramadan to keep advancing on areas held by forces allied or loyal to exiled president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi in south and eastern Yemen.

On Friday, the UN alerted aid groups to be prepared for a possible humanitarian pause in the fighting that would allow them to deliver help to some of the 21 million people in need.

BDST: 2055 HRS, JULY 05, 2015
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