The UN envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said he was “encouraged” on Monday by the “intensification of discussions” to reach a new truce, worrying despite everything about a risk of resumption of the conflict. .
Despite the expiration on October 2 of a truce between the government and the Houthi rebels in effect since April 2, “overall, the military situation in Yemen has remained stable”, “without major escalation”, it said. he said at a meeting of the Security Council.
He nevertheless underlined the continuation of “limited military activities on the front lines”, having led to civilian casualties.
“Military activity, coupled with negative rhetoric and escalating political and economic measures, is creating a situation where a simple error in judgment could reignite a cycle of violence that will be difficult to reverse,” he said. he said, calling on the parties to “work to extend the longest period of relative calm in 8 years”.
In this context, he said he was “encouraged by the intensification of the discussions”, welcoming the regional and international diplomatic activity, in particular the efforts of Saudi Arabia and Oman.
“We see the possibility of a sea change in the trajectory of this eight-year conflict,” he noted. A possibility “which must not be wasted and which requires responsible actions”.
The dialogue of the last months has made it possible to “clarify the positions of the parties and the development of mutually acceptable options on unresolved problems”, estimated Hans Grundberg, but the different elements on the table “cannot be taken in isolation. “.
It is “important that discussions on how to move forward in the short term take place within the framework of a more comprehensive approach to define a clear path towards a lasting political settlement”, he insisted, calling on the parties to “take of the space for dialogue allowed by the absence of large-scale combat”.
The poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen has been devastated since 2014 by a conflict between the Houthis, rebels backed by Iran and pro-government forces backed by a military coalition led by neighboring Saudi Arabia.