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Sana’a, Apr 1 (EFE) .- The warring parties in Yemen, whose conflict has led to the worst humanitarian crisis on the planet according to the UN, today reached an agreement for a two-month comprehensive ceasefire that will begin on Saturday , coinciding with the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
This truce, one of the longest since the conflict began in 2014, was announced by the UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, and was achieved after lengthy talks with the belligerent groups with the promise of lifting the blockade of the main installations controlled by the Houthi rebels.
“The parties to the conflict have responded positively to the United Nations proposal for a two-month truce that will come into force tomorrow, April 2, at 7:00 p.m.,” the UN envoy said in remarks reproduced in a statement.
The importance of this truce is also due to the fact that the parties not only agreed to stop their military operations inside Yemen, but also “beyond its borders”, according to the note, referring to the Houthi missile and drone attacks. against Saudi Arabia.
A COMPREHENSIVE AND CONDITIONED TRUCE
The cessation of hostilities has been announced at a time when intra-Yemeni consultations are underway in Riyadh – in which the Houthi rebels do not participate – with the aim of seeking a roadmap and thus putting an end to this bloody conflict that has mowed down thousands of lives.
The insurgents, backed by Iran, refused to attend the meeting as it was held in Saudi Arabia, a country that has led a military coalition since 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government of President Abdo Rabu Mansur Hadi, exiled in Riyadh.
Likewise, the rebels considered that in order to reach an agreement, certain prerequisites must be met, such as the lifting of the blockade of the areas they control.
These demands were considered by Grundberg, who began a negotiation process a few months ago with the parties to the conflict.
For this reason, it was agreed today that oil tankers can dock at the port of Al Hudeida, controlled by the Houthi rebels but blocked by the military alliance, something that prevents the insurgents from receiving large quantities of crude oil, an increasingly expensive resource and scarce in Yemen.
In the same way, the airport of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, also controlled by the insurgents and on which a blockade weighs, will resume operations “to predetermined destinations in the region” of the Middle East, according to the UN envoy, who He did not offer further details in the note.
On the other hand, they also agreed to negotiate on the opening of the roads of several provinces, in particular that of Taiz, controlled by government forces but on which the Houthis have imposed a siege since 2015.
A RAMADAN WITHOUT VIOLENCE
The truce follows a unilateral ceasefire declared by the Houthis last week, which expired on Wednesday, and another ceasefire by the Arab coalition announced on Tuesday to ensure that the Riyadh consultations “succeed”.
The alliance adopted this measure after the request of the Gulf Cooperation Council and “to create a positive environment” during the holy month of Ramadan, which begins tomorrow, as well as “to make peace and achieve security and stability in Yemen. “.
Although in recent years truces have already been declared during Ramadan, considered a spiritual month of reflection and abstinence, all of them were unilateral, so the one announced today is the first agreed upon.
A STEP TOWARDS PEACE
One of the spokesmen for the Houthis, Mohamed Abdelsalam, welcomed the agreement on Twitter, in the same way as the Yemeni Foreign Minister, Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, who already anticipated on the social network that the Government would lift the blockades the Houthis to pave the way for a comprehensive truce.
The spokesman for the Arab coalition, Turki al Malki, hoped that this truce would provide “the appropriate environment and terrain for de-escalation, reaching a political solution to the conflict between the Yemeni parties and achieving a general peace,” according to the agency. official Saudi news agency SPA.
For his part, Grundberg thanked the government, the coalition and the Houthis for their cooperation in reaching the truce, which aims to “give Yemenis a necessary break from violence, alleviate humanitarian suffering and (…) the hope that it is possible to put an end to this conflict”, which began in 2014.
The UN envoy pointed out that the cessation of hostilities “is a first step that should have been taken a long time ago”, in a country devastated by the conflict for more than seven years and in which more than 80% of its population needs some kind of humanitarian aid.
(c) EFE Agency