NEW YORK: Voting on a draft resolution in the UN security council will be held on Tuesday aimed at Yemen’s Huthi rebels withdraw from territory they have seized and authorising an arms embargo and sanctions against their leaders.
The resolution presented by Jordan and Gulf countries could be blocked by vetoing power Russia which has friendly relations with Iran, the Huthis’ ally.
It is also pertinent to mention here that Russia on Monday lifted a ban on supplying Iran with sophisticated S-300 air defence missile systems, after Tehran struck a deal with the West over its nuclear programme.
It comes as concern mounts of a humanitarian crisis in the country, with aid agencies warning of food shortages and the interruption of basic services in contested areas.
The draft resolution would be the first formal measure to come up for a vote in the Security Council since a Saudi-led coalition launched an air campaign on Yemen on March 26.
The resolution text demands that the Huthis withdraw from the capital Sanaa and all other areas they have seized.
It would place Huthi leader Abdulmalik al-Huthi and ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh’s eldest son, Ahmed, on a sanctions list, imposing a global travel ban and an assets freeze on the two men.
It also provides for an embargo on the sale of arms to the Huthi leaders targeted by sanctions and their allies. But Russia has argued that the embargo should apply to all sides in the conflict, not just the Huthis.
The Security Council vote is scheduled for 1500 GMT.
After 19 days of air strikes, the situation in Yemen is rapidly deteriorating, particularly in Aden where humanitarian groups are struggling to deliver aid.
Aid workers said Sanaa is also suffering, as air strikes target rebel positions there and supplies dwindle.
The Saudi-led coalition spokesman, Brigadier General Ahmed al-Assiri, blamed the humanitarian crisis on militias, saying they are “now using the schools, the hospitals, the stadiums in order to store their equipment”.
More than 600 people have died and 2,000 been wounded in the fighting, according to UN figures.
