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UN Security Council to discuss Yemen crisis — diplomat

The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting to discuss the situation in Yemen on Russia’s initiative

UNITED NATIONS, March 17. /TASS/. The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting Friday to discuss the situation in Yemen on Russia’s initiative, Moscow’s deputy UN envoy said.

"We convoke a meeting of the Security Council in the format of closed consultations in order to hear the secretariat’s plans about political settlement (of the conflict). We have informed Security Council members and regional powers, including Saudi Arabia, about our plans," Vladimir Safronkov said.

According to information obtained from diplomats, the meeting will be held on Friday evening Moscow time and will follow consultations on the situation in Lebanon and Myanmar.

The confrontation between Yemen’s government forces and the Houthis intensified in August 2014. The hostilities entered an active phase when Saudi Arabia launched its air campaign in March 2015. The coalition forces have repeatedly attacked the settlements seized by the Houthis, including Sanaa. According to the non-governmental Yemeni Center for rights and development, a total of 10,000 civilians were killed in the hostilities since 2015, including almost 2,400 children and about 2,000 women.

The conflict brought the country to the verge of the world’s worst humanitarian disaster and famine, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Stephen O’Brien said. Two thirds of the country’s population, or 18.8 million people, require humanitarian assistance, and more than 7 million people are hungry.