(Riyadh) Intra-emeni consultations are being held in Riyadh on Wednesday, in the absence of the Houthi rebels refusing any dialogue in “enemy” territory, in a context however of unilateral announcements by the two parties of a ceasefire in the war ravaging Yemen.
Posted at 3:47 p.m.
The anti-rebel military coalition led by Saudi Arabia, which has been intervening in Yemen since 2015 in support of pro-government forces, declared a ceasefire on Tuesday evening from Wednesday for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. This is the coalition’s first unilateral ceasefire since April 2020.
On Saturday, the Houthis, Yemeni rebels backed by Iran and who are fighting the government recognized by the international community, had for their part announced a three-day truce extendable under certain conditions.
On the various fronts in Yemen, the two parties have respected their ceasefire, according to witnesses on the spot.
During the launch on Wednesday morning of the consultations in Riyadh, which should last a week, the UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, considered that the announcements of “temporary cessation of military operations are a step in the right direction “.
“The peace process in Yemen has been stalled for too long,” said the UN official. “The longer the conflict drags on, the worse the impact on civilians becomes and the more difficult it is to repair the damage. The Yemeni people need to see a clear way out.”
The Swedish diplomat said he would resume his own consultations “in the coming weeks”, hoping that “all the main Yemeni players will participate”.
Noting “positive developments”, he also assured that he was engaged with the parties to reach a multilateral truce “before the start of Ramadan”, at the beginning of April.
After seven years of intervention in Yemen, the coalition has failed to dislodge Houthi rebels from the north of the country, which they have largely wrested from the government, starting with the capital Sanaa taken in 2014.
And the violence and its humanitarian consequences have killed hundreds of thousands of people, displaced millions more and pushed large parts of the population into near-famine conditions.
” Not clear ”
The United States envoy for Yemen, Tim Lenderking, also present in Riyadh, assured that Washington “firmly supports the UN’s immediate truce proposal”.
“We welcome the restraint shown by the parties over the past few days, especially the coalition’s announcement regarding the cessation of military operations in Yemen during Ramadan,” he said.
The Riyadh talks were announced in mid-March by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which brings together six states, including the two main members of the anti-Houthi coalition, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The headquarters of this regional organization is located in Riyadh.
“The solution in Yemen is in the hands of the Yemenis,” said Nayef al-Hajraf, the GCC’s secretary general, saying “the path to security and peace is not impossible.”
“The success of the intra-emeni consultations is not an option, it is a reality to be achieved”, he insisted.
On Tuesday, the coalition said its ceasefire coincided with the start of those consultations in an effort to “create the conditions for their success.”
Experts remain skeptical, however, due to the absence of major protagonists in the conflict, the rebels.
For Maged al-Madhaji, director of the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies, the possible outcome of this meeting does not appear “unclear”, with a “very general agenda” and “discussions limited to one only party, not including the Houthis”.
“Therefore, as far as the peace process is concerned, it will not lead anywhere because the Houthis are not present,” he told AFP.
The unilateral truce announcements nevertheless bring a rare glimmer of hope in this endless war that has caused one of the worst humanitarian tragedies in the world.
In a statement released Wednesday evening, the rebels said they “regret” that Saudi Arabia did not “clearly” respond to their truce proposal, but say they are open to “any positive response” from Riyadh.
The insurgents have nevertheless repeated that there will be “no peace without lifting the blockade”, reserving the right “to take the political and military measures” deemed appropriate.