A two-month truce has come into effect between the warring parties in the war in Yemen, which has pitted Houthi rebels against pro-government forces for nearly 8 years, the United Nations (UN) announced on Saturday evening.
“The two-month truce has come into effect. As of this evening, all air, naval and ground offensives must cease,” UN envoy Hans Grundberg said in a statement.
The Houthis, supported by Iran, face government forces supported since 2015 by a coalition led by Saudi Arabia and including the United Arab Emirates.
This conflict claimed hundreds of thousands of lives according to the UN and pushed this poor country on the Arabian Peninsula to the brink of famine. A previous truce agreed in 2016 between belligerents across the country, and others decided unilaterally, had fizzled.
Under this new truce, which comes on the first day of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, 18 tankers are allowed to enter the strategic port of Hodeidah (in the west) and two commercial flights will have access to the airport of the capital Sanaa.
The pro-government coalition controls Yemen’s air and sea space and only UN flights are allowed to land in Sanaa. This “blockade” is denounced by the Houthis.
Sanaa and the ports of Hodeida are in the hands of the Houthis. Ports are essential for the delivery of humanitarian aid.
A meeting between Houthi and coalition representatives will take place to discuss the reopening of roads, in particular in Taiz (southwest), a city under government control but besieged since 2015 by the insurgents, in order to “allow civilians to move freely added Mr. Grundberg.
“The success of this initiative will depend on the willingness of the warring parties to enforce the truce and [à appliquer] planned humanitarian measures”, according to the UN envoy.
“I hope that the goodwill displayed publicly by the parties will translate into a long-term de-escalation in the inflammatory and hate speech reported by the media”, he further indicated.