RABAT —
Yemen’s government wants to renew a
ceasefire with Houthi rebels and will not escalate the conflict, its foreign
minister said Wednesday, three days after a six-month truce expired.
اضافة اعلان
“We are determined to renew the ceasefire and
address all problems through dialogue,” Ahmed bin Mubarak said during a visit
to Morocco.
The UN-brokered ceasefire, in effect since April,
had brought a sharp reduction in hostilities and facilitated moves to alleviate
the dire humanitarian situation in the country, according to aid agencies.
Some 80 percent of the population rely on aid after
eight years of war.
Bin Mubarak said the government wanted to preserve
those gains.
“We have not made any escalatory moves, despite the
Houthis announcing that the
Red Sea is a military zone and directly threatening
ships,” he said.
Fighting between the Iran-backed Houthis and
pro-government forces began in 2014 and escalated the following year when a
Saudi-led military coalition intervened in support of the loyalists.
The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people,
directly and indirectly, and created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis,
according to the UN.
The initial two-month ceasefire, twice renewed, had
led to a 60 percent reduction in casualties and allowed fuel imports into the
Houthi-held port of Hodeida to quadruple, humanitarian groups said.
But UN envoy
Hans Grundberg’s proposal to extend the
agreement again, adding further measures including allowing more fuel ships
into Hodeida and paying public sector salaries, was rejected by the Houthis who
cited “false promises”.
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