Germany urges more efforts for peace in Yemen

By Ayhan Simsek

BERLIN - Germany urged the international community on Wednesday to step up efforts to end the war in Yemen.

“Yemen will face a humanitarian catastrophe if we do not succeed in ending the war,” Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said at an international conference in Berlin.

The conference hosted by the German Foreign Ministry brought together senior officials from 17 countries, including key actors and major donor countries.

UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths and Resident Coordinator of the UN in Yemen Lise Grande also attended.

On Dec. 13, Yemeni peace talks in Sweden concluded with a cease-fire deal in the coastal Al-Hudaydah province.

However, the warring parties have failed to withdraw from the province amid accusations of truce violations, and fighting continued in other parts of the country.

Impoverished Yemen has remained dogged by violence since 2014, when Shia Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.