By Staff, Agencies

The UN Security Council Friday endorsed Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ call to stop fighting in Yemen and focus on reaching a peace agreement and countering the outbreak of the new coronavirus.

In its first statement on recent developments in Yemen, the UNSC welcomed the cease-fire announced by the Saudi-led coalition to support the UN-led peace process and Guterres’ call for a ceasefire.

However, the two-week ceasefire in fact went into effect on April 9 but has been repeatedly violated since its very first moments.

The council statement followed a briefing Thursday by UN special envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths, who said the threat of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, has galvanized peace efforts.

He said talks with the Saudi-backed government and Yemen’s Ansarullah revolutionaries "are making very good progress" and he expects the warring sides to adopt proposals for a nationwide ceasefire and peace talks "in the immediate future."

Meanwhile, Mohamed Abdel Salam, an Ansarullah spokesman said Thursday the current UN proposal neglects a key demand to lift Saudi Arabia’s air-and-sea blockade, which aid officials partly blame for fueling the country’s humanitarian crisis.