(RTTNews) - The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Tuesday urged all concerned parties in unrest-hit Yemen to exercise restraint after it failed to agree on a public statement at its first meeting held in New York to address the deteriorating situation in the Gulf nation.
The UNSC meeting was called by Germany in wake of the popular uprising against the decades-long rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Yemen and the continuing brutal crackdowns on the anti-government demonstrators by security forces.
The Council members were briefed during Tuesday's closed-door meeting about the present situation in Yemen by a representative of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon who has just returned from the crisis-hit Gulf nation.
After the meeting, German Ambassador Peter Wittig told reporters that the Council members had expressed concerns about the deteriorating situation in Yemen and called on all parties "to exercise restraint and to enter into a comprehensive dialogue" for resolving the crisis.
"Most of us in the council expressed explicitly support for the mediation efforts of the Gulf Cooperation Council," Wittig added.
Meanwhile, reports quoting unnamed Council diplomats suggested that failure to issue a final statement after Tuesday's meeting was due to objections from China and Russia. The two permanent veto-power holding members of the council have been reluctant in the past to involve in international affairs of other nations.
US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, told reporters after the meeting that "there were several delegations that wanted instruction from (their) capitals". This implies that a statement would be issued in the coming days after the envoys discuss the issue with their governments.
Stating that "several themes emerged, including a call for restraint and an end to the violence", Rice added that there were concerns among Council members that the ongoing violence in Yemen could have adverse effects on regional and international peace and security.
Tuesday's UNSC meeting came hours after three people were killed in clashes between security forces and anti-government protesters in Yemen. While two people were killed when security forces opened fire on a demonstration in capital Sanaa, another person was killed in a police crackdown in the southern Taiz province.
It is estimated that more than 120 people have been killed in crackdowns by Yemeni security forces since the protests began on February 11. The protesters want President Saleh to step down from power immediately and are calling for economic and political freedom.
Separately, Foreign Ministers from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC ) member countries are to meet in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday to discuss the Yemen issue. It follows a series of meetings with government and opposition representatives as part of efforts to resolve the crisis in Yemen.
Last week, the Yemeni opposition had rejected a plan proposed by the the six-nation GCC for Saleh to step down in exchange of immunity from prosecution for him and his family. They stressed that the offer for granting immunity to the president and his family are unjust and that Saleh's departure was non-negotiable.
Saleh became leader of North Yemen in 1978, and has ruled the Republic of Yemen as its President since the merger of the North and South in 1990. Until recently, Saleh was a firm ally of the United States in its fight against a growing al-Qaeda insurgency in the region. He is currently under immense international pressure to step down in the wake of the uprising.
The United States said earlier this month that it welcomed the GCC initiative to resolve the ongoing crisis in Yemen, but warned that all concerned parities must actively participate in the negotiations for it to succeed.
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