Yemen says war wipes out decades of development

UNITED NATIONS — Yemen’s foreign minister said that less than a year of fighting in his country has wiped out decades of development, while the UN chief in a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister has called for an immediate cease-fire in the Yemen conflict.

Speaking at a United Nations summit on the adoption of an ambitious blueprint to eradicate extreme poverty and other global goals, Yemeni Foreign Minister Riad Yassin told a gathering of world leaders that Houthi rebels who seized large parts of the Arab world’s poorest country have not abided by UN Security Council resolutions adopted earlier this year. One resolution demanded that the Houthis immediately give up control of government institutions.

A Saudi-led coalition supported by the United States has carried out months of airstrikes that have drawn sharp criticism from human rights groups, who say many civilians have been killed. Meanwhile, a coalition blockade has kept most aid from reaching a country that even before the fighting imported 90 percent of its food and fuel.

Ban Ki-moon in his meeting with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir again called for “increased humanitarian access” to Yemen.

Just on Saturday, loyalist forces in the southernmost country of the Arabian Peninsula backed by a Saudi-led coalition killed at least 20 Iran-backed insurgents, the military said, as they pressed their offensive on the rebel-held capital Sanaa.

Twelve other rebels were captured in the operation launched on the northwestern edge of Marib province, a key battleground in the fight for control of the capital, said a military official

“Loyalist forces, supported by coalition aircraft, have made a slight advance” in the northwest of Marib, Abda al-Subei, of the provincial security forces, told AFP.

President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi’s forces launched a major ground offensive against the Huthi rebels in oil-rich Marib province on September 13, backed by the coalition.

Subei said Saturday’s operation came a day after coalition air strikes on rebel positions.

He did not elaborate on the overall progress of the offensive.

But another Yemeni officer, Murad Turiq, said ground forces came across land mines planted by rebels and were also having difficulty moving through the mountainous region.

The United Nations says nearly 4,900 people, including a vast number of civilians, have been killed in Yemen since late March.

– AFP contributed to this report.