Yemen’s Houthi rebels and the Saudi-led coalition have agreed to a two-month ceasefire, the United Nations (UN) announced on Friday. It is the first time since 2016 that both sides have agreed to a truce.
UN Envoy Grundberg: “The 2-month truce came into effect at 7 p.m. tonight. I hope this truce will give Yemenis a chance to celebrate the holy month of #Ramadan in peace, safety and tranquility": https://t.co/xuosQQUQzC
— @OSE_Yemen (@OSE_Yemen) April 2, 2022
Full text of the agreement: https://t.co/bxktnsO6a9 pic.twitter.com/HNh2vwW5AU
The temporary halt in fighting could bring much-needed relief to the war-ravaged country, as international organisations could increase and expedite efforts to provide aid for millions in Yemen.
Hans Grundberg, the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, announced on Friday that all warring parties have agreed to a two-month truce that took effect on Saturday, the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. “The parties accepted to halt all offensive military air, ground and maritime operations inside Yemen and across its borders,” Grundberg said.
“They also agreed for fuel ships to enter into Hodeidah ports and commercial flights to operate in and out of Sana’a airport to predetermined destinations in the region,” he added. Crucially, Grundberg noted that the truce can be “renewed beyond the two-month period” with the consent of all sides.
The United Nations has confirmed a two month truce in #Yemen will start tomorrow. Amazing news amid this darkness. This ceasefire can be renewed as well. Let's hope it is. Yemen still remains the largest humanitarian crisis in terms of numbers in the world.
— Bel Trew (@Beltrew) April 1, 2022
“The aim of this truce is to give Yemenis a necessary break from violence, relief from the humanitarian suffering and most importantly hope that an end to this conflict is possible,” he emphasised. In this regard, Grundberg stressed that he will “intensify” efforts aimed at reaching a permanent ceasefire during the truce period.
The agreement came after the Iran-backed Houthis and the Gulf coalition rejected each other’s proposals aimed at establishing a ceasefire. Last week, the Houthis rejected the coalition’s declaration of a truce as well as peace talks between Yemeni factions and coalition members in Yemen. Similarly, a Houthi offer to suspend all attacks on Saudi Arabia was rejected by coalition members, who launched deadly strikes on rebel camps in Sana’a, Hodeidah, and Ma’rib on March 29 in retaliation to Houthi missile attacks that struck a Saudi Aramco oilfield in Jeddah.
Against this backdrop, UN Secretary-General António Guterres hailed Friday’s agreement as the “first step to ending Yemen’s devastating war.” He called on all sides “to make the necessary arrangements to support the successful implementation of the truce, and to operationalise cooperation mechanisms without delay.”
I commend the Government of Yemen, the Saudi-led Coalition and the Houthis for agreeing on a two-month truce in Yemen, including cross-border attacks.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) April 1, 2022
This truce must be a first step to ending Yemen’s devastating war. https://t.co/JCNPtRwZ0j
Noting that a halt to the fighting will allow the entry of fuel ships and humanitarian aid into Yemen, Guterres called on the Houthis and the coalition to redouble efforts to reach a “negotiated political settlement” to the seven-year-long conflict.
“The war has fueled one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, brought state institutions to the verge of collapse, reversed human development by two decades, and threatened regional peace and security,” the UN chief noted. Against this grim scenario, he said that the beginning of the truce “must be the start of a better future for the people of Yemen.”
So far, it appears that both sides have respected the agreement. Arab News reported on Sunday that fighting has “largely stopped” in key battlefields in Yemen, including Sana’a, Ma’rib, and Hodeidah. The Associated Press reported on the same day that a fuel tanker arrived in Hodeidah after the coalition allowed the vessel to dock at the port.
BREAKING: a fuel ship called the "Splendour Sapphire" has finally reached Hodeida.
— Richard Medhurst (@richimedhurst) April 3, 2022
The US-backed Saudi coalition let it go as part of the truce, after detaining it illegally for 88 days.
This proves that the fuel embargo on Yemen is real, intentional, and purely political.
In 2017, following a Houthi missile attack on Riyadh’s international airport, Saudi-led forces announced a land, sea, and air blockade of Yemen that has continued to date. As a result, the port of Hodeidah was also blockaded, immediately cutting off about 70% of Yemen’s commercial and humanitarian imports.
The Saudi-led coalition welcomed the UN announcement and confirmed that all military operations in Yemen will be halted during the period. It also stated that it will support all UN efforts aimed at reviving the political process and reaching a “comprehensive” peace deal.
The deal was praised by Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies as well as other Arab states including Egypt, Jordan, and Djibouti. Furthermore, the cessation of hostilities was endorsed by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Arab League, which called on the Houthis to “comply with and respect the armistice.”
The Houthis said that they will maintain the truce and comply with UN efforts. Houthi spokesman Muhammad Abd al-Salam said they welcomed the initiative and hoped that the truce leads to the coalition ending their blockade.
Moreover, the Houthi’s main supporter Iran expressed support for the deal and UN-backed efforts to bring an end to the conflict. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said that Tehran hopes that the truce “will hold and we will see an improvement in the humanitarian situation and a prisoner swap between the warring sides.”
The halt to fighting was also welcomed by the United States. President Joe Biden thanked Saudi Arabia, Oman, and the UN for “bringing this initiative to fruition” and stressed that Washington will “continue to strive for de-escalation and peace” in the region but at the same will not hesitate to “deter threats to our friends and partners.”
The unrest in Yemen began in 2014, when a civil war broke out between the Houthis and the internationally recognised Yemeni government, which was ousted in the same year by the rebels. In 2015, a Saudi-led coalition, including the UAE, launched a major offensive in Yemen by conducting airstrikes on Houthi-controlled areas. Since then, there has been no end in sight to the war, and international efforts to halt the fighting have largely failed.
The war has killed more than 130,000 people, with the United Nations calling the conflict in Yemen “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.”