Talking enough? UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting on Yemen

© EPA/PETER FOLEY

he UN Security Council is due to convene on Sunday an emergency meeting on the deterioration of the crisis in Yemen, torn by a struggle between the government and the Shiite Houthi rebels who have toppled it, the press service of the organization has said.

The meeting is scheduled at 3 p.m. New York time (1900 GMT).

A diplomatic source told TASS the meeting is called by Jordan, a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, at the request of Yemen's President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

"During the meeting, a statement of the Council's chair will be adopted," the source said.

The Council members will also hold a meeting behind the closed doors.

Since August 2014, Yemen has been hit by a severe political and security crisis. In late January, the armed groups of Ansar Allah forced the president and the government to announce resignation.

The rebels later took control of the country's capital and several northern provinces. They also announced the adoption of the so-called constitutional declaration.

Currently, Mansur Hadi remains in the seaport city Aden, in southern Yemen. He continues de facto accomplishing the duties of the president and is recognized as the president at the international level. The capital Sana is now under the control of the rebels.

In late February, the UN Security Council extended for a year the sanctions against Yemen's former president Ali Abdullah Saleh and two Houthi rebel commanders. The document calls on all the sides of the conflict to participate in the talks under the UN auspices.

On Thursday, Aden saw fierce clashes between the security forces and the rebels. During the attack on the presidential palace the rebels used warplanes. The president said the actions signaled that the rebels were against holding a dialogue on the way out of the crisis in Yemen and called on the UN Security Council to interfere in the situation.

On Friday, the UN Security Council adopted a statement condemning the attack on the presidential palace. The Council members expressed support for Mansur Hadi as the legitimate president of Yemen.

The clashes in Yemen come amid the activity of the Al-Qaeda terrorist group on the Arabian Peninsula and also the Islamic State. The IS gunmen claimed responsibility for Friday's attacks on two mosques in Sana that killed more than 100 people.