The United Nations Security Council met for the first time Tuesday to tackle the hostilities in Yemen, in which anti-government protesters have clashed with security forces and pro-government demonstrators over the last two months.

The UN efforts to deal with the Yemen crisis coincide with the ongoing initiative of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, or the GCC - a coalition of Gulf Arab nations working to ease tensions between Yemen's government of Ali Abdullah Saleh and a restive opposition.

The Security Council was unable to agree on a joint statement, and it's unclear whether any diplomatic reaction will be forthcoming on Yemen in the coming days.

But one diplomat said it was the first time Yemen was on the agenda of the Security Council and it was "perhaps too early for everyone to agree."

This world and regional diplomatic focus on Yemen comes as protesters took to the streets in the capital of Sanaa and other cities across the country, which the United Nations calls the poorest country in the region.

One death was reported in Hodeida on Wednesday, when security forces in civilian clothing shot and killed a protester, sources said.