Yemen: Saudi-led coalition to halt military offensive
Yemen, Mar 30: The Saudi-led coalition said that it would halt its ongoing military offensive in Yemen from Wednesday amid efforts to find a political solution to the crisis.
The Houthis have, however, rejected the cease-fire proposal as "meaningless'' without the coalition fully reopening the country's ports.
The move by the coalition followed a call by the United Nations for a truce during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which is expected to begin on April 2.
"The coalition hereby announces the cessation of military operations in Yemen beginning at 06:00 a.m. (0300 GMT) Wednesday, March 30 2022," it said in a statement which was carried by the Saudi Press Agency.
Turki
al-Maliki,
a
spokesperson
for
the
Saudi-led
coalition,
said
in
the
statement
that
the
coalition
would
"take
all
steps
and
measures
to
make
the
cease-fire
successful
...
and
create
a
positive
environment
during
the
holy
month
of
Ramadan
to
make
peace
and
end
the
crisis."
Houthis
urge
coalition
to
lift
'blockade'
But the Iran-backed Houthi rebels dismissed the offer over the continuing closure of Sanaa's airport and the curbs on the country's ports by the coalition.
"If the blockade is not lifted, the declaration of the coalition of aggression to stop its military operations will be meaningless because the suffering of Yemenis as a result of the blockade is more severe than the war itself,'' Houthi official Mohammed al-Bukaiti said in a tweet.
With the international community struggling to end the seven-year-old conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives and pushed millions towards starvation, the truce would have been the most crucial step in peace efforts in over three years.
The announcement had also raised immediate questions as the Houthi rebels are skipping a summit about the war in Saudi Arabia, organized by the Saudi-based Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), because it's taking place on their enemy's territory.
The
GCC,
whose
members
are
Bahrain,
Kuwait,
Oman,
Qatar,
Saudi
Arabia
and
the
United
Arab
Emirates,
began
the
talks
Tuesday
in
Riyadh.
The
summit
is
expected
to
continue
through
April
7.
Bloody
conflict
and
a
humanitarian
catastrophe
It is not immediately known how long the unilateral cease-fire would hold and how the coalition would respond if the Houthis did not agree to it.
In the past too, other unilateral cease-fire efforts by the coalition have crumpled.
Yemen's war began in September 2014, when the Houthis swept into the capital, Sanaa, from their northwestern stronghold in the Arab world's poorest country. The Houthis then pushed into exile the government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, elected in 2012 as the sole candidate after the long rule of Ali Abdullah Saleh.
A Saudi-led coalition, including the UAE, entered the war in March 2015 to try and restore Hadi's government to power. But the war stretched into long bloody years, pushing Yemen to the brink of famine.
The UN has been working with the two sides to arrive at a peace agreement and help reduce the blow of a humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen.
Source: DW