Kerry pushes for 'pause' in air strikes in Yemen
克里努力推动也门暂停空袭
Top US diplomat John Kerry has met seperately with the President of Yemen Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and Saudi Arabia's King Salman. Kerry was in Saudi Arabia Thursday to push for a "pause" in air strikes in Yemen, while the country's exiled authorities urged a foreign ground offensive against rebels.
Coalition air strikes and weapons drops have been supporting fighters loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, who fled the Houthi advance on his southern refuge in Aden.
Kerry held talks with Hadi, now based in the Saudi capital, and with his Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir on Thursday. Kerry told reporters ahead of his trip that discussions would focus on the nature and implementation of the pause.
Weeks of air strikes by a Saudi-led coalition have failed to halt an advance by the Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Houthis have now seized large parts of the country including the capital Sanaa.
In a letter to the Security Council, Yemen's mission to the United Nations said the rebels were carrying out "barbaric violations" in the southern city of Aden and pleaded for action.