UN backs negotiated Yemen peace including concerns of south

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council is strongly supporting a negotiated political solution in war-torn Yemen that addresses legitimate concerns of all Yemenis, including those in the south, which recently saw a violent attempt to take over government institutions.

A statement approved Thursday by all 15 council members expressed deep concern about escalating violence and recent loss of life across Yemen, including in the key southern port city of Aden and the capital Sanaa and other northern cities controlled by Houthi Shiite rebels.

The council condemned "in the strongest terms" escalating Houthi attacks on civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and called on the rebels "to cease such attacks immediately."

The council expressed particular concern at developments in the south, calling on all involved "to show restraint and to preserve Yemen's territorial integrity."