The U.N. special envoy for Yemen blamed Houthi rebels for the failure to renew a six-month-long truce and called on the warring parties to demonstrate “leadership, compromise and flexibility” and urgently renew and expand the deal that brought the longest period of calm to Yemen since its devastating civil war began in 2014.
Hans Grundberg told the U.N. Security Council that after important recent discussions with regional partners in Abu Dhabi and Oman’s capital Muscat on the way forward he personally believes “there is a possibility for the parties to come to an agreement.”
The initial two-month truce agreed to on April 2 by Yemen’s internationally recognized government and Iranian-backed Houthi rebels was extended twice, until Oct. 2. The failure to renew it, Grundberg said, “has caused new uncertainty for the country and a heightened risk of war.”
The U.N. envoy outlined his proposal for a six-month extension and expansion of the truce, saying the government engaged “positively” with the final revision but the Houthis “came up with additional demands that could not be met.”
The U.N. envoy outlined his proposal for a six-month extension and expansion of the truce, saying the government engaged “positively” with the final revision but the Houthis “came up with additional demands that could not be met.”
The proposal included the continued halt to offensive military operations, a transparent “mechanism” to pay civil servant salaries and pensions, the phased opening of roads in the Houthi-blockaded city of Taiz, a commitment to urgently release detainees, and establishing “structures” to start negotiations toward a cease-fire and end to the conflict.
Grundberg welcomed the restraint shown by both sides since the truce expired, saying there has been no major military escalation, “only sporadic exchanges of artillery and small arms fire in frontline areas in Taiz, Marib, Hodeida and Dhale.”
He said the achievements of the truce “should not be underestimated”: a 60% decrease in casualties, 56 commercial flights transporting almost 27,000 passengers, a three fold rise in the fuel products delivered to Hodeida ports over 2021, and “face-to-face meetings of the parties under U.N. auspices on military de-escalation and road openings in Taiz and other governorates.”
The conflict created one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world while becoming a regional proxy war in recent years. More than 150,000 people have been killed, including over 14,500 civilians.
Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Joyce Msuya told the council in a video briefing from Hodeida that she spent six days traveling in Yemen and has seen clearly “the havoc that this conflict has wreaked on civilians.”
Nonetheless, Msuya said that while the U.N. appeal for Yemen has received $2 billion — more than half from the United States — it is still only 48% funded and urged donors to fill the gap.