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UN announces nationwide truce in Yemen — Analysis

The UN stated that the Saudi-led coalition as well as Yemen’s Houthi rebels had pledged to end fighting for two consecutive months.

Yemenis may get a reprieve from hostilities in their war-shattered country, as Houthi rebels and the Saudi-led coalition fighting to reinstate the country’s deposed government have agreed to a UN proposal to cease offensive operations for at least two months.

Officials from UN said that the truce would go into effect on Saturday at 7 p.m. and could be extended if each side agrees to maintain their fire while working towards a comprehensive ceasefire. The ceasefire deal calls for halting all offensive military operations – ground, air and maritime – within Yemen and across its borders.

“Today must be the start of a better future for the people of Yemen,”Antonio Guterres was UN secretary general and spoke in New York to journalists. He stated that the truce had been declared. “creates a genuine opportunity to restart Yemen’s political process,”It is possible to do it “must be the first step to ending Yemen’s devastating civil war.”

The agreement, which coincides with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, includes provisions allowing for ships to make fuel deliveries into Yemeni ports and for commercial airlines to fly in and out of Sana’a, the capital. They also reached an agreement to have talks moderated by Hans Grundberg (UN envoy) on opening roads to civil traffic in the country.

Saudi Arabia announces Yemen ceasefire

Guterres stated that allowing movement to, from, and within Yemen would help build trust, and provide a favorable environment for peace negotiations. Calling the seven-year war the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, the secretary-general urged the warring parties to fully respect the truce while working toward a peace settlement that addresses “the legitimate concerns and aspirations of all Yemenis.”

Guterres said he’s hopeful that the truce will hold and be renewed before expiring in two months. He acknowledged however, “We know that these agreements are always fragile.”

Guterres was asked what the Yemen truce would show other combatants around the globe, such as Russia or Ukraine. “It demonstrates that even when things look impossible, when there is the will to compromise, peace becomes possible.”

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