the belligerents undertake to respect a new ceasefire, announces the UN

The Houthi rebels and the Yemeni government have committed to a new ceasefire. They also accepted the opening of a peace process to end their conflict, the United Nations special envoy for Yemen announced on Saturday, December 23.

After a series of meetings in Saudi Arabia and Oman, Hans Grundberg “welcomed the parties’ commitment to a package of measures aimed at implementing a country-wide ceasefire” and to “engage in preparations for the resumption of an inclusive political process under the auspices of the United Nations”according to the UN press release.

The poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen has been plunged for eight years into a war opposing the Houthi rebels, supported by Iran, to government forces supported since 2015 by a coalition led by Saudi Arabia, and notably including the United Arab Emirates. However, violence has largely decreased since a truce negotiated by the UN in April 2022, which expired last October but which is still generally respected.