SANAA —
Yemen's
warring parties laid down their weapons for the first nationwide truce since
2016 on Saturday, with all eyes on whether the UN-brokered ceasefire will hold.
اضافة اعلان
The Iran-backed
Huthi rebels and Saudi-led
coalition have both agreed to observe the two-month truce, which took effect at
1600 GMT on the first day of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan.
"The two-month truce started at 7pm
(1600 GMT) tonight. As of tonight, all offensive ground, aerial, and naval
military operations should cease," UN special envoy Hans Grundberg said in
a statement.
Yemen's intractable war has killed hundreds
of thousands directly or indirectly and displaced millions, triggering the
world's worst humanitarian crisis, according to the
UN.
Previous ceasefires have been ineffective. A
national truce ahead of peace talks in April 2016 was violated almost
immediately, as were other ceasefires that year.
A 2018 agreement to cease hostilities around
rebel-held Hodeida port, a lifeline for the Arab world's poorest country, was
also largely ignored.
Both the Huthis and Saudi Arabia have
welcomed the latest initiative, which follows a surge in attacks but also
increasing diplomacy including ongoing talks — snubbed by the rebels — in
Riyadh.
"This time I am optimistic. This truce
is unlike all the previous ones," Asmaa Zayed, a college student who also
works as a cashier in Hodeida, told AFP.
"The fact it comes with
Ramadan gives
us a lot of hope. This war started when I was 15 years old and turned all my
dreams into nightmares."
'Suffered immensely'
Under the agreement, all ground, air, and
sea military operations in Yemen and across its borders are to stop.
Eighteen fuel ships will be allowed into
Hodeida port and two commercial flights a week can resume in and out of Sanaa,
also in rebel hands — both key demands of the insurgents before they consider
peace talks.
The two sides have also agreed to meet to
open roads in Taez and other governorates, Grundberg said, adding the truce
could be renewed with their consent.
"The success of this initiative will
depend on the warring parties' continued commitment to implementing the truce
agreement with its accompanying humanitarian measures," said the Swedish
diplomat.
"I also hope the goodwill that we saw
from all sides in public will translate into long-term de-escalation of inflammatory
media rhetoric and hate speech."
With fighting in Yemen at a stalemate, the
Huthis launched a series of drone-and-missile attacks on Saudi Arabia and
coalition partner the UAE this year, often targeting oil facilities.
The coalition has responded with air
strikes.
Last week, on the seventh anniversary of the
Saudi-led military coalition's intervention, and a day after an attack on an
oil plant within sight of the
Formula One Grand Prix in the Saudi city of
Jeddah, the Huthis announced a three-day unilateral ceasefire.
The coalition then announced its own truce
from Wednesday, ahead of discussions with international partners in Riyadh. The
rebels declined to attend the talks in an "enemy" country.
'Reeks of death'
Saudi Arabia expressed its
"support" for the UN ceasefire, which was also welcomed by
US President Joe Biden, UN chief Antonio Guterres, the EU and the leaders of
Britain, France, and Iraq.
The major question now is whether the
truce will be observed.
The
Norwegian Refugee Council hoped it would
be "the start of a new chapter", while Save the Children said it
offered a "much-needed respite from all the violence".
The war in Yemen started when the Huthis
took control of Sanaa in 2014, prompting the Saudi-led intervention in March of
the following year in support of the ousted government.
It plunged what was already the
Arab world's
poorest country into years of crisis, with failing infrastructure and services
and 80 percent of the 30 million population dependent on aid.
"Everything around us reeks of death
and war," said Zayed, the student in Hodeida. "I think I will go into
a depression if this truce ends or fails."
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