UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt visits Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday.

The United Kingdom has called on Saudi to end hostilities in Yemen and find a political solution and cooperate with an investigation into the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

“The human cost of war in Yemen is incalculable: With millions displaced, famine and disease rife, and years of bloodshed, the only solution is now a political decision to set aside arms and pursue peace,” Hunt said in a statement.

“So today I am travelling to the Persian Gulf to demand that all sides commit to this process”, Aljazeera reported.

Hunt’s comments come as Saudi-Emirati backed forces intensified fighting against the Houthi rebels for control of the strategic port city of Hodeidah.

Riyadh, already under scrutiny for civilian deaths in Yemen air raids, is facing global criticism and potential sanctions over the murder of Khashoggi at its Istanbul consulate on October.

“The international community remain united in horror and outrage at the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi one month ago. It is clearly unacceptable that the full circumstances behind his murder still remain unclear,” he said.

Hunt, the first British minister to visit Saudi Arabia since Khashoggi’s murder, will also call on the Saudi authorities to do more to deliver justice and accountability for his family.

“We encourage the Saudi authorities to cooperate fully with the Turkish investigation into his death so that we deliver justice for his family and the watching world.”