​The UN’s special envoy to Yemen has returned from talks with the Houthi rebel leadership championing what he called “positive and constructive” progress over the fate of the vital port city of Hodeidah.

British national Martin Griffiths, who took up the post in February this year, addressed the United Nations security council in a closed-door briefing on Thursday after his return from capital Sanaa, where he met with rebel leader Abdul Malek al-Houthi, and Aden, the Yemeni government’s interim base.

“All parties have not only underscored their strong desire for peace, but have also engaged with me on concrete ideas for achieving peace,” he said in a statement.

Footage shows gunfire at Yemeni port town Hodeidah

“I look forward to working with all the parties urgently to find a solution both that will restore security and stability in Hodeidah but also create positive conditions for a rapid and urgent restart of political negotiations in the coming days.”

While no details have been made public, the Saudi-based al Arabiya reported on Friday that the Houthis rejected a proposal to hand Hodeidah and its port over to UN jurisdiction, instead suggesting joint management, but in principal verbally agreed to a lasting ceasefire.

While at least one Houthi negotiator later said no significant progress had been made, the visit to Sanaa nonetheless marks the first high level UN meeting with Houthi leadership since Yemen’s civil war broke out in 2015.

The situation in Yemen Show all 14 1 /14 The situation in Yemen The situation in Yemen Houthi supporters trample on a US flag during a gathering mobilizing more fighters into several Yemeni battlefronts, in Sana'a, Yemen EPA The situation in Yemen People carry the coffins of men, who were killed in the recent Saudi-led airstrikes during their funeral, in the Old City of Sanaa, Yemen AP The situation in Yemen Pro-government fighters give food to Yemeni children on the road leading to the southwestern port city of Mokha. Yemeni rebels are putting up fierce resistance in a key Red Sea port city where they are encircled by pro-government force Getty Images The situation in Yemen A Yemeni stands in front of a graffiti protesting US military operations in war-affected Yemen, in Sana'a, Yemen. According to reports, US Special Forces troops allegedly disembarked from US helicopters in the Yemeni town of Yakla and attacked several houses belonging to members of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, killing three high-ranking Al-Qaeda members and nine civilians, six women and three children. One American serviceman has been killed and three injured in the attack EPA The situation in Yemen US Special Forces troops allegedly disembarked from US helicopters in the Yemeni town of Yakla and attacked several houses belonging to members of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, killing three high-ranking Al-Qaeda members and nine civilians, six women and three children. One American serviceman has been killed and three injured in the attack EPA The situation in Yemen A Yemeni female fighter supporting the Shiite Huthi rebels, and carrying weapons used for ceremonial purposes, takes part in an anti-Saudi rally in the capital Sanaa Getty Images The situation in Yemen Yemeni female fighters supporting the Shiite Huthi rebels, and carrying weapons used for ceremonial purposes, take part in an anti-Saudi rally in the capital Sanaa Getty Images The situation in Yemen A boy shouts slogans next to pro-Houthi fighters, who have been injured during recent fighting, during a rally held to honour those injured or maimed while fighting in Houthi ranks in Sanaa, Yemen Reuters The situation in Yemen Balls of fire and smoke rise from a Houthi-held military camp following alleged Saudi-led airstrikes, in Sana'a, Yemen EPA The situation in Yemen Yemenis search under the rubble of damaged houses following reported Saudi-led coalition air strikes on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa Getty Images The situation in Yemen A Yemeni boy looks on as Yemenis search under the rubble of damaged houses following reported Saudi-led coalition air strikes on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa Getty The situation in Yemen A Yemeni boy sits amidst the rubble of damaged houses following reported Saudi-led coalition air strikes on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa AFP/Getty The situation in Yemen Marine One with US President Donald Trump flies with a decoy and support helicopters to Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, for the dignified transfer of Navy Seal Chief Petty Officer William 'Ryan' Owens who was killed in Yemen Getty Images The situation in Yemen US President Donald Trump aboard the Marine One to greet the remains of a US military commando killed during a raid on the al Qaeda militant group in southern Yemen on Sunday, at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, US Reuters

The political progress comes as the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) released a new report which has found 121,000 people have been displaced by the fighting since Operation Golden Victory began last month.

Resident Ahmed Abdullah Nasser told The Independent that airstrikes were still intermittently hitting southern suburbs of the city, despite an official pause in fighting while protracted talks continue.

As well as the immediate threat to the city’s 600,000 civilians from close-quarters urban fighting, Hodeidah, on Yemen’s Red Sea coast, is a lifeline for the rest of the country’s 28 million-strong population.

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More than 80 per cent of Yemen’s commercial goods, fuel and aid pass through the city’s port – leaving aid agencies sounding the alarm that any damage caused by Operation Golden Victory could exacerbate the country’s dual malnutrition and cholera crises.