UN envoy in Yemen comes under attack‏

English version

اليمن العربي

UN envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, was shot at immediately after his arrival in Sana’a International Airport yesterday, the Anadolu Agency reported.

Ahmed was severely criticised by the Houthi militias, who accused him of being “biased” and offering nothing new, “but only what the [Saudi-led] coalition is dictating on him”.

A group of pro-Houthi demonstrators threw empty cans at Ahmed’s convoy as it departed from Sana’a airport, accusing him of failing to lift the ongoing siege of the airport, Anadolu said.

“I came here to Sana’a to tackle three issues,” he told reporters. “The first is to avoid a military operation in the Port of Hudaydah, in the west of the country.”

"The second thing I will focus on is the humanitarian issue, as the cholera epidemic in Yemen is worsening and suspected cases now stand at more than 25,000.

“The third issue has to do with the economic dimension, which concerns recent salary shortfalls for state employees and the crisis affecting the central bank.”

According to the World Health Organisation, within the past three weeks more than 240 people have died of cholera in Yemen.