UN Security Council condemns Houthi missile attacks and calls for immediate end to fighting in Yemen

Anwar Gargash, the UAE minister of State for Foreign Affairs, says UN Security Council 'emphasis on the political solution, is all welcome'

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Anwar Gargash has praised a UN Security Council statement on Yemen on March 15, 2018. Neil Hall / Reuters

The UN Security Council has condemned missile attacks by Houthi rebels and called for full implementation of the arms embargo on Yemen.

The council also praised the  humanitarian efforts of Saudi Arabia and the UAE in Yemen and called for greater access to aid for millions of Yemenis affected by the war against the Iran-backed rebels.

The UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs on Friday welcomed the decision.

"The Security Council's statement on Yemen, which was clear in its condemnation of the Houthi militias and their practices, in dealing with the humanitarian crisis and the efforts of the Arab coalition towards it, and in its emphasis on the political solution and its terms of reference, is all welcome," Dr Anwar Gargash said on Twitter.

Dr Gargash said the statement "clearly indicates that the Houthi militias remain the main obstacle to the political process" and that a political settlement of the conflict remained the best solution for Yemen.

The council condemned the ballistic-missile attacks by the Houthis against Saudi Arabia "with particular concern for the November 4 and December 19, 2017 attacks which deliberately endangered civilian areas", and the actions of rebels off the coast of Yemen.

It said it took attempted attacks by the Houthis against shipping around Bab Al Mandeb "extremely seriously" and condemned "the use of sea mines by non-nation state actors, including Houthi forces", voicing concern that the mines could break free of their moorings and drift into international shipping channels.

The council "notes with appreciation the recent announcement of a ‘Yemen Comprehensive Humanitarian Operations Plan’ by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia-led Coalition, the recent delivery of four World Food Programme cranes to Hodeida port, as well as plans to install four additional cranes in Mokha, Aden and Mukalla ports, and to deposit $2 billion into the Central Bank of Yemen", the statement said.

The council also welcomed the UAE and Saudi Arabia’s pledges to contribute nearly $1 billion the UN’s humanitarian appeal for Yemen, and to raise a further $500 million from the region.

An agreement to deposit $2bn in the Yemeni central bank was signed in Riyadh on Thursday by Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al Jadaan and the bank's governor, Mohammed bin Mansour Zammam, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Mr Al Jadaan said the agreement raised the total amount of Saudi deposits in Yemen's central bank to $3bn.