(Sanaa) Houthi rebels in Yemen announced on Saturday that they would cease their offensives in their country and Saudi Arabia for “three days”, the day after a series of attacks against the neighboring kingdom.
Posted at 3:31 p.m.
The conflict in Yemen for more than seven years has pitted pro-government forces, backed by an international coalition led by Riyadh, against Houthi rebels, backed by Iran.
“Missile and drone strikes as well as all military actions against Saudi Arabia will be suspended for a period of three days,” Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdelsalam said on Twitter, quoting Mahdi al-Mashat, top leader of the rebels.
This truce could become “a final and permanent commitment” if Saudi Arabia lifts the “blockade” on Yemen, ceases its air raids and withdraws its “foreign forces” on Yemeni soil, added Mohammed Abdelsalam.
This engagement also offers an end to Houthi offensives on Yemeni territory, especially around the oil-producing city of Marib, where the battle has raged in recent months. It also includes the exchange of prisoners.
The announcement comes the day after a new series of rebel attacks against Saudi Arabia, one of which caused – without causing any casualties – a gigantic fire in an oil site in Jeddah, close to the Formula 1 circuit which hosts the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Blockade
In response, the military coalition, which is entering its seventh year of intervention in Yemen, carried out airstrikes overnight from Friday to Saturday in rebel-held areas in Sanaa (north) and Hodeidah (west).
The Houthis’ announcement also comes at a time when an Iranian nuclear deal, after several months of talks in Vienna, is about to be concluded, in the “days” to come according to statements on Saturday by the head of European diplomacy. Joseph Borrell.
In addition to taking the capital Sanaa in 2014, the rebels seized most of the north of the country, the poorest in the Arabian Peninsula and plunged because of the war into one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.
However, the military coalition controls the country’s air and maritime space. While only UN flights are allowed through Sanaa airport, the Houthis have long posed the lifting of this “blockade” as a condition for talks.
Earlier Saturday, a Saudi official told AFP that the rebels were preparing to propose a truce and intra-emeni talks.
Discussions-
“The Houthis have proposed, through mediators, an initiative including a truce, the opening of the airport (of Sanaa) and the port (of Hodeidah) as well as intra-emeni discussions”, said this Saudi official close folder.
“We are waiting for an official announcement from them, because they are constantly changing their position,” added this official, who requested anonymity.
A Riyadh-based diplomat told AFP, also on condition of anonymity, that the UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, had started talks to reach a truce during Ramadan, the month Muslim fasting which takes place this year in April.
The war in Yemen has directly and indirectly killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions more, according to the UN. A large part of the population, especially children, is facing acute hunger, with situations close to famine.
The Gulf Cooperation Council recently called on the warring parties for peace talks at the end of the month in Riyadh, the organisation’s headquarters, but the rebels rejected any talks taking place in an “enemy” country.