...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships...
to play a "leading role" in running the lifeline port in embattled Hodeida, U.N. envoy Martin Griffiths said Friday.
Griffiths, who started a Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...peace mission in rebel-held Sanaa on Wednesday, said he has discussed with Huthi rebel officials "how the U.N. could contribute to keeping the peace" in Hodeida.
"I am here to tell you today that we have agreed that the U.N. should now pursue actively and urgently detailed negotiations for a leading U.N. role in the port and more broadly," he told news hounds during his first visit to Hodeida.
Griffiths urged Yemen's warring parties to "keep the peace" in the port city.
"The attention of the world is on Hodeida. Leaders from every country have called for us all to keep the peace in Hodeida," he said.
Griffiths was in the country ahead of planned peace talks in Sweden in December between the Iran-aligned Houthis and pro-government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition.
Both warring sides have expressed support for the envoy's mission to hold discussions to end a war that has pushed the country to the brink of famine.