(Riyadh) The Saudi-led coalition that backs the Yemeni government against Houthi rebels announced a ceasefire from Wednesday during the fasting month of Ramadan as talks begin in Riyadh.
Posted yesterday at 5:55 p.m.
“The coalition hereby announces the cessation of military operations in Yemen from 6:00 a.m. (03:00 GMT) on Wednesday, March 30, 2022,” it said in a statement released Tuesday evening by the Saudi Press Agency. .
This ceasefire “coincides with the start of consultations between Yemenis, with the aim of creating the conditions conducive to their success and a favorable environment for the holy month of Ramadan to make peace”, added the command of the coalition. in his press release.
Ramadan begins in early April in the Muslim world.
Riyadh is hosting talks on Wednesday under the aegis of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which brings together six countries. But without the participation of the Houthis who refused to go into “enemy” territory.
“I am very grateful for the unanimous support expressed for the efforts of the United Nations for an immediate de-escalation and a political settlement of the conflict”, tweeted before the announcement of the ceasefire the UN envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg.
The Houthi rebels, after carrying out sixteen attacks against the kingdom on Friday, announced a three-day unilateral truce on Saturday.
The insurgents, backed by Iran, have offered to make the truce permanent if Riyadh lifts the “blockade” on Yemen, ceases its air raids and withdraws its forces from the country at war since 2014.
The international coalition controls Yemen’s air and sea space, and only UN flights are allowed through Sanaa airport. A situation that the Houthis call a “blockade”.
Prisoner exchange
On Tuesday, Riyadh said it was waiting for “serious measures” from the Houthis, including an exchange of prisoners, before deciding.
The insurgents announced on Sunday evening an agreement for the release of 1,400 prisoners held by the government against 823 held by the Houthis, including 16 Saudis, three Sudanese and the brother of Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
“A prisoner exchange agreement has been reached through the United Nations,” Houthi representative Abdelkader Al-Mourtada tweeted.
The person in charge of this file on the government side, Hadi Haig, had however specified on Twitter that the agreement was “still under study”.
The last prisoner exchange resulted in the release of 1,056 people in October 2020.
The International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (ICRC) in Yemen, which handles prisoner exchanges, welcomed progress in the talks.
“But we are also aware that negotiations of this kind during an active conflict are complex and time-consuming,” added ICRC spokesman Basheer Omar.
Iran, for its part, said on Tuesday that the ceasefire proposed by the Houthis before that of the coalition was a “strong message”.
“In the event of a positive and serious approach [de la coalition dirigée par Riyad]the ceasefire project can be a good basis for ending the current war,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Said Khatibzadeh said in a statement.
The Saudi-led coalition has been operating in Yemen since 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government, after the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa the year before.
The rebels have taken control of most of the north of the country, the poorest on the Arabian Peninsula and a neighbor of the wealthy Saudi monarchy.
With nearly 380,000 dead, millions displaced and a large part of the population on the brink of starvation, the war in Yemen has caused one of the worst humanitarian tragedies in the world according to the UN.