Local Editor

The Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, called on all sides of the conflict in Yemen to meet as soon as possible to work toward a political solution to the fighting there, which had killed an estimated 1,500 since escalating in March.

Churkin also suggested the UN Security Council, of which Russia is a permanent member, could help mediate a peace agreement. His comments came 24 hours into a humanitarian ceasefire in Yemen.

Further, the Russian ambassador's comments echoed a statement by the whole of the Security Council made earlier Wednesday, which called for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to hold a peace conference among parties.

While the fragile ceasefire had generally held over the last day, isolated fighting during its first hours raised concern that it would be ineffective in halting fighting on the ground which had devastated Yemen's civilian population.

While the Saudi-led coalition of 11 nations supported by the US and its allies had yet to enter Yemen on the ground, Saudi Arabia had, over the course of the conflict, amassed a large force along its border with Yemen.

Moreover, the coalition ramped up its air campaign and bombarded the Houthis along the Saudi-Yemeni border in the 24 hours leading up to the ceasefire.

The coalition had at times entertained the idea of conducting a ground campaign, but Churkin strongly opposed any such operation on Wednesday.

"The start of a military operation involving foreign contingents might have absolutely disastrous aftermaths," he said, according to the Russian state-run news outlet Tass. "The humanitarian disaster there might be highly aggravated."

Henceforth, at least 828 civilians were martyred because of the fighting, including 182 children and 91 women. Another 1,500 civilians had been wounded, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team