(Dubai) The UN announced on Tuesday the extension in extremis for “two additional months” of the truce in force in Yemen, with the hope of “intensifying” negotiations to achieve a more “lasting” peace in this country. ravaged by almost eight years of war.
Posted at 1:59 p.m.
Updated at 2:46 p.m.
Faced with one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula is devastated by the conflict between government forces, backed by a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia since 2015, and Houthi rebels. backed by Iran, Riyadh’s rival in the region.
“I am pleased to announce that the parties have agreed to extend the truce, under the same conditions, for two additional months, from August 2, 2022 to October 2, 2022,” said the UN envoy for the Yemen, Hans Grundberg.
This ceasefire “includes a commitment by the parties to intensify negotiations to reach a broad truce agreement as soon as possible,” he said in a statement.
According to him, negotiations are underway via the UN “to consolidate the opportunity offered by the truce to move towards a lasting peace”.
On April 2, a two-month truce was observed in Yemen and then extended for the same period on June 2, giving Yemenis a rare respite. As in June, the announcement of the renewal of the truce was made on the same day it was supposed to end.
“The main objective of the current truce remains to provide tangible relief to civilians and to create an environment conducive to a peaceful resolution of the conflict through a comprehensive political process,” said Hans Grundberg.
According to the UN, the war in Yemen has left hundreds of thousands dead and millions displaced, with two-thirds of the population in need of humanitarian aid, particularly in the face of the risk of large-scale famine.
Step up efforts
On Monday, several local and international humanitarian organizations working in Yemen called for the truce to be renewed for a longer period of “six months or more”.
According to them, the ceasefire has made it possible in four months to “considerably” reduce the number of civilian victims and to facilitate the delivery of fuel, which has led to the “proper functioning of public services”.
The truce has been relatively respected on the ground despite sporadic violations according to these NGOs, which include Action Against Hunger, Handicap International, Médecins du Monde, Oxfam and Save the Children.
The belligerents had repeatedly accused each other of violations. On Tuesday, the UN envoy promised to intensify his efforts “to ensure the full implementation of all the parties’ obligations in the truce”.
These obligations include the thorny issue of the payment of civil servants’ salaries, the opening of blocked roads as in the city besieged by the rebels of Taiz, an expansion of flights to and from Sanaa airport (north), formerly closed to civilian traffic, as well as a more regular transport of fuel to the ports of Hodeïda (west).
The announcement of the extension of the truce comes at a time when Yemen is facing a drop in humanitarian aid. In late June, the UN’s World Food Program announced further cuts to its aid due to chronic funding shortfalls, inflation, and the fallout from the conflict in Ukraine.