Yemen government positive about UN proposal for nationwide truce

The Yemen government has said it got a positive attitude to the updated UN proposal for extending and expanding the truce “out of keenness to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people.”

“The main goal of the armistice is to stop the bloodshed resulting from the Houthi militias’ war, and ensure free movement of individuals and goods and free delivery of humanitarian assistance,” Yemen News Agency (SABA) quoted a government official as saying.

Through renewing the truce, the government hopes increase the benefits for the Yemenis and facilitate their movement, ensure orderly pay for employees, and alleviate the suffering caused by the Houthi militia coup, the source said under anonymity.

The legitimate government spares no effort in working with the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg to overcome the problems raised by the Houthis, including their failure to lift the siege on Taiz and the breaches of the truce, he added.

The remarks of the government official come on the eve of the Oct. 2 deadline for another extension of the UN-negotiated truce.

On Friday, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “strongly urged the Yemeni parties not only to renew but also to expand the truce’s terms and duration, in line with the proposal presented to them by Hans Grundberg.

“The truce, which first came into effect on April 2, 2022, has brought the longest period of relative calm since the beginning of the war,” Guterres said in a press release.

Over the past six months, it has delivered tangible benefits and much needed relief to the Yemeni people, including a significant reduction in violence and civilian casualties countrywide, an increase in fuel deliveries through Hodeidah port, and the resumption of international commercial flights to and from Sanaa for the first time in almost six years, he added.

Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has called on the Houthis to engage constructively with UN efforts to broker an extension to the truce in Yemen.

Cleverly said: “Yemen must not return to conflict. The truce expires tomorrow, but the Houthis continue to endanger the talks and deny Yemenis a peaceful future.

“The truce has brought tangible benefits to both Yemenis and regional security and we welcome the government of Yemen’s commitment to extend it further if an extension can be agreed.

“We call on the Houthis to engage constructively with UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg’s efforts to broker an extension to the truce, so that serious dialogue about achieving a peaceful, inclusive and Yemeni-led future can take place.”

He added, “The UK commends the government of Yemen’s commitment to continue delivering the benefits of the truce through enabling Yemeni people to move more freely and safely around Yemen, to access fuel throughout the country, to fly in and out of Yemen to visit families and access healthcare, and through restarting payments for civil servants.

“The Yemeni people will only experience these benefits beyond Sunday if the parties agree to extend.”