In Hodeidah, a strategic port city in Yemen, residents hope the recent truce will provide respite in a country that has been at war for more than seven years. But many remain cautious, tested by one of the world’s worst humanitarian tragedies.
“If it fails, then it will be over, our last hope,” Maha Hamid, a 44-year-old teacher who has not received a regular salary “for five years” told Agence France-Presse in this city in western Yemen.
“The humanitarian situation is appalling and catastrophic. And both sides know that,” she said.
Since Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014, government soldiers have waged an endless and deadly war against them. From 2015, the war took a turn, with the intervention of a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia and including the United Arab Emirates to support loyalist forces.
The conflict has caused one of the world’s worst tragedies, killing hundreds of thousands of people and forcing millions more from their homes. Isolated from the rest of the world, Yemenis are struggling with acute hunger, sometimes close to starvation, and are 80% dependent on international aid.
Return of violence
On Saturday, the first day of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, the entry into force of a two-month national truce, brokered by the UN, brought a glimmer of hope in the country, the poorest of the peninsula. arabic.
As early as Tuesday, however, the government and the Houthis accused each other of resuming hostilities. The previous ceasefire, dating from 2016, was violated immediately after it came into effect. Since 2018, an agreement to end hostilities in Hodeidah has been routinely ignored by fighters.
In this port located on the shores of the Red Sea and in the hands of the rebels, Safaa Mohammed has few illusions. The belligerents “do not experience the difficulties we are going through, that is why the truce is fragile. I don’t trust anyone [d’entre eux], but we’re tired,” says this interior design student. Yet she wants to believe it. “Even the most pessimistic hope that the truce works and proves them wrong,” she explains. The return of violence is “extremely frustrating”.
On Twitter, Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed bin Mubarak accused the Houthis of “violations” of the ceasefire, citing “troop and vehicle mobilizations, artillery fire and drone attacks”. .
Meanwhile, rebel-affiliated media reported truce “violations” by pro-government troops on Sunday and Monday.
Airspace control
In addition to the suspension of fighting, the truce provides for the resumption of two weekly commercial flights to and from Sanaa, as well as the entry of 18 ships carrying fuel to the port of Hodeida, two areas controlled by the rebels.
The Saudi coalition, which controls all of Yemen’s air and maritime space, is regularly accused by the Houthis of maintaining a “blockade” on this country.
In Sanaa, Mujahed Salah doesn’t have much hope either. “This truce will fail like those that preceded it. And the biggest loser will be the ordinary Yemeni, ”laments this 43-year-old man, an employee in a private company.
Even if the guns were to fall silent, even if the country finally opened up to the outside world, Mr. Salah regrets that the serious economic crisis, a major concern of the population, was not addressed during the negotiations for the truce. “While prices are rising every day,” he sighs.
Young student, Amjad Yahya says he is “optimistic”, especially with the reopening of Sanaa airport and the ports of Hodeida. “It’s important for the country’s economy and lower food prices,” he said.
The truce comes at a time when inflation is exploding, against a backdrop of shrinking international aid funding. Yemen sees its food security threatened by another war, that in Ukraine, a country providing it with almost a third of its wheat supply.