Intra-Yemeni Talks To Continue Until Late May - UN Special Envoy

Intra-Yemeni Talks to Continue Until Late May - UN Special Envoy

DOHA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th April, 2022) Intra-Yemeni consultations will continue until the end of May in the hope that the parties to the conflict can reach a political settlement and end hostilities, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said on Wednesday.

According to Maghreb Arab Press, Grundberg told reporters via video that the two-month truce between the parties, which had come into force on Saturday, provided a rare opportunity to make progress towards a political settlement in the long-time and brutal war. The envoy stressed that the truce became the first in the country in six years.

Despite the fact that a ceasefire regime is rarely respected in Yemen unless supported by progress on the political track, this time there has been a significant decrease in violence, Grundberg noted. At the same time, he warned that the truce is under threat, especially given recent reports of violations in Marib governorate.

In this regard, Grundberg urged the parties to engage constructively in the dialogue without setting preconditions.

On Friday, the UN special envoy said that the sides to the conflict reached an agreement on a two-month truce starting April 2, with the possibility of further extension. The parties agreed to stop all offensive military operations inside and outside Yemen, to let ships carrying oil products enter the Al Hudaydah port in the Red Sea and to allow commercial flights to and from the Sanaa airport to predetermined sites in the region. The parties also pledged to consider the possibility of opening roads in Taiz and other governorates. The truce was timed to coincide with the start of inter-Yemeni talks in Riyadh.

Yemen has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government forces, led by President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, and the Houthi rebels. Since March 2015, the Saudi-led Arab alliance, working in cooperation with Hadi's forces, has been conducting air, land and sea operations against the Houthis. The conflict has created arguably the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world.