Guterres urged the warring sides in Yemen to reach a political settlement to end a conflict now

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the warring sides in Yemen to reach a political settlement to end a conflict now in its fourth year that has killed at least 10,000 people and left 22 million in urgent need of aid.

Speaking in Geneva on the sidelines of a U.N. pledging conference for Yemen, Guterres said his Special Envoy Martin Griffiths will head to the United Arab Emirates, Oman and the Yemeni government-held city of Aden in the drive for peace, Guterres told reporters.

Griffiths has already held talks with Houthi authorities as well as internationally-recognized Yemeni President Abed Rabbou Mansour Hadi and Saudi officials in Riyadh.

Guterres said he saw “positive perspectives” for preparing a plan of action “to lead to an effective inter-Yemeni dialogue able to achieve a political solution, with the involvement of all those … relevant in this conflict.”He announced that more than $2 billion has been pledged toward a U.N. humanitarian appeal of $3 billion for Yemen this year. It includes $930 million from Saudi Arabia and the UAE which lead the coalition airstrikes.

Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdel-Malek al-Mekhlafi called for a return to the negotiating table to end the war in the Arabian peninsula’s poorest country and said his government was working to open blockaded ports and airports to aid.