UN special envoy to Yemen stepping down
The UN's special envoy to Yemen has stepped down after four years of efforts at a peaceful political transition in the Arab world's poorest country fell apart amid a Shiite rebel uprising and Saudi-led airstrikes.
A UN statement said Jamal Benomar "has expressed an interest in moving on to another assignment" and that his successor will be named "in due course." UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric would not comment on published reports that the head of the UN's Ebola emergency response mission in West Africa, Ismael Ould Cheikh Ahmed of Mauritania, would replace Benomar. He said the UN secretary-general would consult the parties in Yemen and countries in the region before selecting a replacement, adding that it must be "someone who can talk to all parties."
