The warring Yemeni rebels and government have committed to a new ceasefire and agreed to the start of a peace process to end the conflict, the United Nations special envoy for Yemen.
Following a series of meetings in Saudi Arabia and Oman, Hans Grundberg, “welcomes the commitment of the parties to a set of measures aimed at implementing a ceasefire countrywide and to engage in preparations for the resumption of an inclusive political process under the auspices of the United Nations,” according to the UN press release.
Yemen: military forces present
© / afp.com/Valentin RAKOVSKY
Violence has decreased since 2022
The poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen has been plunged for eight years into a war pitting Houthi rebels against government forces supported since 2015 by a coalition led by Saudi Arabia, and notably including the United Arab Emirates. Violence there has, however, largely decreased since a truce negotiated by the UN in April 2022, which expired last October but which is still more or less respected.
According to the UN statement, the agreement includes commitments to pay civil servants’ salaries, open roads to the rebel-blocked city of Taiz and other parts of Yemen, and resume oil exports. “The Yemenis expect tangible results from this new agreement in order to progress towards lasting peace,” said Hans Grundberg, quoted in the press release. Commitments which “are above all an obligation towards the Yemeni people”, he continued.