UNITED NATIONS: Jamal Benomar, the UN special envoy for Yemen, has stepped down from his post amid criticism of his failure to broker an end to the conflict in the country.

In a statement late on Wednesday evening, the UN said it would name a successor “in due course” and “spare no efforts to re-launch the (Yemeni) peace process”.

Mr Benomar is believed to have come under pressure from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states to resign.

A Saudi-led coalition is carrying out air strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen who forced President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee to Saudi Arabia.

A spokesman for the world body revealed that Mr Benomar had told United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that he was interested in “moving to another assignment”.

“A successor shall be named in due course. Until that time and beyond, the United Nations will continue to spare no efforts to re-launch the peace process in order to get the political transition back on track,” said the UN spokesman.

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2015

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