Students gather around a teacher carrying a boy who fainted during a class in Taez, Yemen’s third city, on Aug 22. They have been using unfinished buildings as a school. (AHMAD AL-BASHA / AFP)

The United Nations has urged the warring sides in Yemen to negotiate a ceasefire and ease the people’s suffering, as a fresh round of clashes broke out in the Middle Eastern country’s oil-rich Marib province.

Abhijit Guha, the head of the United Nations Mission to support the Hodeidah Agreement, said it is vital that parties to the conflict resume dialogue, silence the guns and look for a political solution.

Guha told Riyadh-based daily Arab News that both the Yemeni government and the Houthi group should implement the Hodeidah Agreement, part of an agreement reached in December 2018 that also includes an arrangement for a prisoner exchange.

Geng Shuang, China’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, called on all parties in Yemen and the international community to “step up their efforts to find a way out of the current predicament” as the Yemeni people, particularly the children, have continued to suffer from economic, humanitarian and political challenges amid the civil war.

Geng stressed on Aug 23 that a comprehensive ceasefire must be achieved as soon as possible, and that the peace process should be resumed at an early date.

“There is no military option for the issue of Yemen, and a political solution is the only way out,” Geng told a Security Council briefing on Yemen.

The calls from UN and Chinese officials came as fighting has intensified between Yemeni military forces and Houthi rebels, with the clashes said to have covered Yemen’s western districts of Medghal, Sirwah, Jabal Murad and Rahabah. The army-backed, Saudi-led coalition had reportedly repelled the attacks, killing dozens of the attackers, including someone described as an Iranian military officer reportedly advising the Houthis, Yemeni Information Minister Moammar Al-Eryani said.

An Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said in a statement that there was no Iranian military adviser in Yemen, the Tehran Times reported.

It marked the first large attack since the Houthis launched a major offensive on Marib in February in an attempt to seize control of the Yemeni government’s last northern stronghold.

On Aug 6, the UN appointed Swedish diplomat Hans Grundberg as its new envoy to Yemen. A veteran in Middle East affairs, Grundberg succeeded Briton Martin Griffiths as the fourth envoy named for the conflict.Experts say he may have a shot at restoring peace in the country if he focuses on the political crisis rather than the humanitarian aspects. 

Abdulghani Al-Iryani, who had worked with the UN in the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, hopes Grundberg can bring about change, given his experience as the European Union ambassador to the country.

He said Grundberg should also talk to marginalized Yemeni parties.

“The tendency of international approach in the past was to reward warlords by saying that the discussions will only be between all those who are fighting,” said Iryani, who is also a senior researcher at the Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies in Yemen.

China hopes the new UN special envoy for Yemen will perform his duties objectively and impartially, strive to achieve a comprehensive cease-fire at an early date, and make progress in dialogue and peace talks, said Geng, the Chinese envoy.

Geng emphasized the role of other countries and the need for synergy to promote peace talks. China appreciates that countries such as Saudi Arabia and Oman have continued to aid in mediation efforts, he said.

Countries with influence on Yemen should continue to play an active and constructive role to promote mutual trust and adhere to the direction of political settlement, the envoy said.

Noting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi put forward a five-point initiative for peace and stability in the Middle East when he visited the region earlier this year, Geng said China has always supported and participated in the Yemeni peace process.

China is ready to maintain communication and close coordination with all parties on the five-point initiative, the envoy said.

Geng urged the scaling-up of international humanitarian assistance to alleviate Yemen’s economy.

The Yemeni government has taken measures to restore the economy, stabilize the currency and protect people’s livelihoods, which China appreciates and supports, Geng said.

Mohammed Alragawi, a research fellow at the Yemeni think tank the Abaad Studies and Research Center, said a resolution to the conflict will help the humanitarian situation.

“The priorities now for Mr Grundberg are to bring the fighting parties to the negotiation table again,” Alragawi told China Daily.

Civil war in Yemen broke out in 2014 after the Houthis’ seizure of the capital Sanaa, forcing out the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Xinhua contributed to this story.

Contact the writers at jan@chinadailyapac.com