The UN envoy for Yemen warned that the resumption of fighting “is real” and urged warring parties to agree to a longer extension of the existing ceasefire that is due to expire next month.
Grundberg’s stern warning came Tuesday night after meeting in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, with Rashad al-Alimi, head of the internationally known presidential council, and in Oman’s capital, Muscat, with Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the Houthi rebels’ chief negotiator. He also met with Saudi and Omani officials to call for an extension of the ceasefire.
Grundberg, who was in Yemen’s capital Sana’a on Wednesday for additional talks with the Houthis, said he had discussed a UN proposal to renew the truce for a longer period of time “to give Yemenis a chance to advance a wider basket of priorities. “
“We are at a crossroads where the threat of returning to war is genuine and I urge the parties to choose an option that prioritizes the wishes of the Yemeni people,” he said.
Efforts to renew the ceasefire emerged as both sides held military parades in territories under their control. The government around the world held marches on the anniversary of the 1962 uprising against the Imamat regime in northern Yemen.
The most notable parade was held by the Houthis last week in the capital of Sanaa, where they displayed a variety of weapons, adding missiles and drones, resembling those produced by Iran, their commander in the war. The Houthi parades were a birthday party for his capture of the capital Sanaa in September 2014, sparking the existing civil war.
The UN envoy provided the main points of his proposal.
Nabil Jamel, a government negotiator, said the U. N. proposal includes tactics to pay public officials in Houthi-controlled territories and reopen roads in blockaded cities, adding that Taiz gave more details.
The reopening of roads in Taiz and other provinces is part of the truce brokered by the UN, which came into force in early April and was extended twice, this time until October 2. Both sides denounced violations of the ceasefire. The truce established a partial reopening of Sana’a airport to announce flights and allowed fuel ships to enter the port of Hodeidah.
Abdul-Salam, the Houthi official in Oman, called for a permanent opening of Sana’a airport and Red Sea ports in Hodeidah, as payment of salaries and pensions, before engaging in political talks.
“There is no seriousness or credibility to any peace in Yemen before the implementation of those pressing humanitarian issues,” he said on Twitter.
The truce is the longest lull in fighting in Yemen’s war, now in its eighth year. Although both sides have denounced violations, the ceasefire has eased Yemenis who have suffered a decade of political instability and military conflict.
In addition to direct fighting, landmines and other explosive remnants of war continue to kill civilians in Hodeidah. Earlier this week, the UN said at least 15 people, including children, had been killed or injured in the past week in the disputed city, bringing the total to more than a hundred dead and 141 injured since November.
Yemen’s brutal civil war began in 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of northern Yemen and forced the government into exile. A Saudi-led coalition went to war in early 2015 in an attempt to repair the globally identified government in power.
The standoff has created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises and, over the years, has turned into a regional proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. More than 150,000 people were killed, adding up to more than 14,500 civilians.
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