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Britain calls for UN Security Council to back ceasefire in Yemen

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Britain calls for UN Security Council to back ceasefire in YemenBritain has called for the UN Security Council to take action over the war in Yemen, as international pressure grows on both sides.  “Now for the first time there appears to be a window in which both sides can be encouraged to come to the table, stop the killing and find a political solution that is the only long term way out of disaster,” said Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt. “The UK will use all its influence to push for such an approach.” The Foreign Secretary’s renewed call to support an end to Yemen’s conflict followed a meeting with UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths, who has been trying to advance peace talks in the neglected conflict. One of the Arab world's poorest countries, Yemen has been caught in a devastating war since March 2015, when a Saudi-led coalition launched a massive military campaign to oust Iran-backed Houthi rebels and restore the country’s official government to power. Three and a half years on, much of Yemen’s infrastructure is in ruins. Eight million of the country’s 28 million people rely on UN food rations to survive, and experts predict widespread famine. The UK is one of the top arms suppliers to Saudi Arabia, after sales rose two-thirds in 2017.  Mr Griffiths has pushed for a nationwide ceasefire in Yemen, the start of a UN-led process that could lead to an end to the conflict and eventual peace talks. The Foreign Secretary said the time was right for the UK to discuss with its UN Security Council partners how to bolster this process, days after the US made a rare appeal for a ceasefire in the country.  Renewed attention on the conflict has come amid widespread condemnation of Saudi Arabia and its powerful Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, who is the chief architect of Yemen’s war. MBS, as the crown prince is known, is suspected of ordering the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the country’s consulate in Istanbul one month ago. Saudi Arabia and bin Salman deny his involvement.  The incident has thrown a light on the crown prince's broader foreign policy decisions, apparently bringing the widely forgotten conflict in Yemen back onto the global agenda.