U.N. council urges Yemen's warring parties to resume ceasefire

By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council on Tuesday urged the warring parties in Yemen to resume a "meaningful, sustainable" ceasefire after a Saudi-led coalition ended a more than two-week-old truce amid accusations it had been repeatedly violated by both sides. The ceasefire began on Dec. 15 in tandem with U.N.-brokered peace talks. Nearly 6,000 people have been killed since the coalition entered the conflict in March, almost half of them civilians. The coalition officially ended the truce on Saturday, saying it could not be maintained because of "the continuation of the Houthi militias and Saleh forces in violating it." Yemeni troops loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh are fighting alongside the Houthis. "The members of the council urged the parties to resume a meaningful, sustainable ceasefire that would be respected by all sides," said Uruguay's U.N. Ambassador Elbio Rosselli, who is president of the 15-member body for January. "For the members of the council this is of fundamental importance." The coalition began its military campaign to prevent the Houthis, whom it sees as a proxy for Iran, from taking complete control of Yemen after seizing much of the north last year. The Houthis accuse the coalition of launching a war of aggression. The coalition ended the ceasefire the same day Saudi Arabia executed prominent Shi'ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, sparking anger among Shi'ites in the region and leading to Riyadh cutting ties with Tehran after Iranian protesters stormed its embassy. "We all hope that the regional powers that have influence in Yemen will be responsible to enter into dialogue and to prevent the situation from impacting elsewhere," said Rosselli, speaking in his national capacity. The Security Council urged the warring parties in Yemen to participate in another round of peace talks this month and "expressed deep concern on the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen which continues to worsen." The United Nations has designated Yemen as one of its highest-level humanitarian crises, alongside emergencies in South Sudan, Syria and Iraq. It says more than 21 million people in Yemen need help, or about 80 percent of the population. "We urge all the parties to fulfill their commitments to facilitate the delivery of commercial goods, humanitarian assistance, fuel for civilian purposes to all parts of Yemen," Rosselli said as council president. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Paul Simao)