UN envoy regrets failure to mediate a Yemen cease-fire

The outgoing U,N

UNITED NATIONS -- The U.N.'s outgoing special envoy for Yemen expressed “deep regret” Tuesday that he failed to mediate a cease-fire and peace talks between Yemen’s warring parties, but said he hoped a recent diplomatic effort by Oman “will bear fruit.” Martin Griffiths, who painted a bleak picture of the Arab world’s poorest country, said in his final briefing to the U.N. Security Council that Yemen is in the throes of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Griffiths said Yemenis are forced to “live under violence, insecurity and fear, with limits to their freedom of movement, religion and free expression.” He blamed the lack of courage of leaders on both sides — the government and Houthi rebels — for failing to choose a path to peace over continuing conflict. “Yemen is a tale of missed and then lost opportunities,” he said. “And perhaps most tragically, we have seen the hopes and aspirations of a generation of young Yemenis for a peaceful future dashed.”