Saudi-led coalition announces two-week ceasefire in Yemen
The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthi rebels in Yemen has announced a two-week ceasefire in the war-torn country starting Thursday.
Coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki said Wednesday the ceasefire, which can be extended, is aimed at creating favourable conditions for UN peace efforts, easing the suffering of the Yemeni people and countering the coronavirus pandemic, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
He added that the suspension in fighting will also help in carrying out a call by the UN envoy for Yemen Martin Griffths to hold a meeting between the internationally recognized government and the Houthis, which will be attended by a military team from the coalition.
The meeting will discuss the UN envoy’s proposals on steps and mechanisms to enforce the ceasefire permanently in Yemen, steps of building confidence and resumption of negotiations between the Yemeni sides towards finding a comprehensive political solution in the war-torn country, al-Malki pointed out.
Earlier in the day, a spokesman for the Houthis said that his group sent a vision to the United Nations for “a comprehensive cessation of war and an end to the blockade.”
The vision “guarantees the safety, integrity and independence of Yemen and lays the foundations for a political dialogue and a new transitional stage,” Mohammed Abdusalam said on Twitter.
The UN envoy, meanwhile, welcomed the announcement of “the unilateral ceasefire covering all ground, maritime and air operations in Yemen.”
“The announcement comes in support of the UN’s peace process and the UN Secretary-General’s call for a nationwide ceasefire in order to avert the grave risks of a Covid-19 outbreak,” Griffiths said in a statement.
“The parties must now utilize this opportunity and cease immediately all hostilities with the utmost urgency, and make progress towards comprehensive and sustainable peace,” he added.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres recently called for ceasefire agreements in conflicts worldwide in light of the global coronavirus pandemic.
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Yemen, one of the Arab world’s poorest countries, has been gripped by war since late 2014.
Saudi Arabia has been leading a military coalition fighting the Houthis since March 2015. It was formed to stop the rebels from advancing towards the southern city of Aden, which became the seat of government after the Houthis took over the capital Sana’a.
The conflict is seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and its regional rival, Iran. It has pushed Yemen to the verge of famine and devastated the country’s health facilities. (dpa)
