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| - The UN special envoy to Yemen urged its warring parties Thursday to accept a proposed peace plan, telling the Security Council that the blueprint has international backing. "All we need now is for the parties to agree to this deal. That's all," Martin Griffiths said. "The international community, as represented by this council, is united (with) a central, clear and consistent message: that the only way out of the conflict is a negotiated political solution," Griffiths said. "Generally, it is also true that there is a convergence of diplomatic voices in favor of an end to the war and its successful political resolution," he added. Yemen's civil war, which started in 2014, pits Iran-backed Huthi rebels against an internationally recognized government backed by a Saudi-led military coalition. The conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions, according to international organizations, sparking what the UN calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Since February the UN has been pushing a plan to end the conflict that features a nationwide ceasefire, the opening of north-south roads to guarantee movement of people, humanitarian and other aid, and the launch of a political process to end the fighting. prh/dw/ft
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