London, April 20: The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has failed to reach consensus on a solution to the ongoing violence in Yemen, as the situation in the crisis-hit Middle Eastern country continues to deteriorate.
In a Tuesday meeting, the 15 members of the international body called on the Yemeni regime to exercise restraint, but did not reach an agreement on a statement proposed by Germany and Lebanon, the details of which are not reported.
Some diplomats said the meeting was inconclusive because several envoys wanted to consult their respective establishments, AFP reports.
“We expressed concern at the situation in Yemen which is deteriorating, we ask for restraint and dialogue,” said German Ambassador to the UN Peter Wittig, who proposed the UNSC’s meeting.
The 15-nation Security Council meeting came as the Yemeni regime’s crackdown on anti-government protesters continues.
On Tuesday, Yemeni forces killed four people and injured hundreds of others in the Yemeni capital of Sana’a and the southern city of Taiz.
Earlier on Tuesday, mediators from the Persian Gulf Arab nations held a meeting with the Yemeni government delegation in capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, to discuss the possibility of the transfer of power to the Yemeni vice president.
Since mid-February, anti-government protests over the country’s lack of civil liberties and extreme poverty have engulfed Yemen.
Inspired by revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, Yemeni protesters have been voicing demands for the establishment of justice and the removal of the country’s longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Saleh has, however, declared that he will stay in power until the end of his term in 2013.
Some 40 percent of the Yemeni population lives on USD 2 or less a day, and one third of the country’s population faces food shortage.
The popular protests in Yemen have met with crackdowns by riot police and supporters of Saleh, who are armed with knives and batons.
According to local sources, the death toll in the country has surpassed 300.
——–Agencies