UN, others demand Yemen ceasefire within days

The UN peace envoy to Yemen on Sunday (October 16th) joined Britain and the US in urging the country's warring parties to declare a ceasefire they said could start within days, AFP reported.

UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed met with US Secretary of State John Kerry and his counterparts from Britain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE at talks hosted by Britain in London.

He said he had been in contact with the Houthis' lead negotiator and with Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi's government.

Kerry said he, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Cheikh Ahmed are calling for the ceasefire to begin "as rapidly as possible, meaning Monday, Tuesday".

"We cannot emphasise enough today the urgency of ending the violence in Yemen," Kerry said.

In a key step towards a de-escalation, the coalition on Saturday acknowledged that one of its warplanes had "wrongly targeted" a funeral in Sanaa based on "incorrect information".

The coalition also announced disciplinary measures and compensation to families of victims and an easing of the air blockade it enforces so as to allow the evacuation of the most seriously wounded for treatment abroad.

This opened way for an Omani aircraft to evacuate from Sanaa more than 100 of the most seriously wounded in the strike on the funeral.

Britain said Friday it will present a draft resolution to the UN Security Council demanding an immediate ceasefire in Yemen and resumption of peace talks.

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