Under attack from Houthis, UN envoy’s guards open fire in Sanaa

SANAA: Bodyguards of the UN special envoy to Yemen had to fire in the air Monday to disperse protesters after he arrived in rebel-held Sanaa to jumpstart peace talks, witnesses said.

Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed landed at Sanaa airport, which has been closed to regular flights since a Saudi-led Arab coalition in March 2015 launched a military campaign in support of the government and against Iran-backed Houthi militias.

But the Houthis appeared not keen to meet the UN envoy, and their supporters blocked the way out of the airport, prompting Cheikh Ahmed’s guards to open fire, a witness said.

Cheikh Ahmed’s visit to Sanaa is part of a regional tour he began in Riyadh with the hope of reigniting peace talks, which have so far proved fruitless.

At the airport, Cheikh Ahmed told reporters he also wanted to discuss with the Shiite Houthis and their allies ways of securing



humanitarian access to the Red Sea port of Hodeida, to “prevent by all means an attack on the port.”

Humanitarian organizations have voiced fears of an imminent coalition attack on rebel-controlled Hodeida, and urged safe access to the vital port.

The coalition has denied plans to attack Hodeida, but urged the UN to control the port, which they accuse the Houthis of using as a conduit for arms.

“Our position in the UN is clear. Such an attack would have serious humanitarian consequences that we would want to avoid,” the envoy said.

Cheikh Ahmed also said at Sanaa airport that he hoped to discuss ways to battle a mounting humanitarian crisis, which has been worsened by a cholera outbreak the World Health Organization (WHO) says has killed 315 people in nearly four weeks.

Yemen’s conflict has killed more than 8,000 people and wounded 45,000 since March 2015.