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The announcement by Hans Grundberg, the UN special envoy for Yemen, is the latest step towards ending a nine-year war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
The new truce was announced after H. Grundberg’s recent meetings in Saudi Arabia and Oman with Rashad al-Alimi, the head of the Saudi-backed Yemeni Presidential Governing Council, and Mohammed Abdul Salam, the chief negotiator of the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
Grundberg “welcomes the commitment of the parties to take measures for a nationwide ceasefire … and to participate in preparations for the resumption of an inclusive political process,” the envoy’s office said in a statement.
The envoy “will now work with countries to develop an action plan, under UN supervision, that incorporates these commitments and supports their implementation,” the statement said.
The conflict in Yemen has been simmering since Iranian-backed Houthi rebels seized control of the capital Sanaa in 2014, and a Saudi-led military intervention to prop up the government began the following year.
After a UN-brokered cease-fire came into effect in April 2022, the scale of hostilities decreased dramatically. The ceasefire expired last October, although hostilities remain largely suspended.
The action plan to end the fighting will include commitments to pay civil servants, open roads to the rebel-held city of Taez and other parts of Yemen and resume oil exports, according to the latest UN statement.
“The people of Yemen are watching and waiting for this new opportunity, which will bring tangible results and ensure progress towards lasting peace,” said H. Grundberg.
“The countries have taken an important step. Their commitment is first and foremost a commitment to the people of Yemen.”
Attacks in the Red Sea
The deal comes after Houthi rebels launched a series of attacks on key Red Sea shipping lanes in a show of solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is battling Hamas militants.
The Houthis have vowed to attack ships linked to Israel or sailing to Israeli ports if the war between Israel and Hamas, which began on October 7, is not ended.
According to the Pentagon, they conducted more than 100 drone and missile attacks, targeting 10 merchant ships.
Insurgent attacks threaten the transit route, which transports up to 12 percent of the world’s population. global trade, and this prompted the United States to establish an international naval task force to protect Red Sea shipping.
Mohammed Albasha, senior Middle East analyst at the US-based Navanti Group, told AFP news agency that the Houthis’ “military actions are hindering the pursuit of a peaceful solution.”
“The Houthis … have become aggressors who target civilian assets,” he said.
The announcement of the latest deal comes as Saudi Arabia seeks to withdraw from the conflict, although hopes for lasting peace are slim.
Many analysts are pessimistic about the likelihood that Riyadh’s plans to reduce its military role in Yemen will help bring peace to the country, which remains deeply divided along religious, regional and political lines.
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2024-07-25 02:26:14
