The Saudi-led coalition announced on Tuesday that it will stop military operations against Houthi rebels across Yemen to support United Nations efforts to end the original five-year-old conflict. more than 100,000 dead and a humanitarian disaster. This initiative will take effect Thursday at noon for a period of two weeks renewable, said the coalition in a statement.
It aims to facilitate talks organized under the auspices of the UN Special Envoy, Martin Griffiths, for a permanent cease-fire. It is also partly intended to prevent a potential epidemic of new coronavirus in Yemen, where no case has been reported so far, said Colonel Tourki al Malki, spokesperson for the coalition, in this same press release.
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The announcement is the first major breakthrough since the UN reunited the belligerents in late 2018 in Sweden, where they signed a ceasefire for the port city of Hodeidah.
It is unclear whether the Houthi, a Shiite armed movement aligned with Iran, will take a decision similar to that of the Saudi-led coalition. Their spokesman Mohamed Abdoulsalam said they had sent a comprehensive plan to the United Nations to achieve peace and end the "blockade" imposed on Yemen.
" (Our proposal) will lay the foundations for political dialogue and a period of transition," he wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.
According to Saudi television, the Houthis fired a ballistic missile towards the Yemeni city of Marib on Wednesday evening.
Martin Griffiths welcomed the announcement by the Saudi coalition and called on the belligerents to "seize this opportunity, immediately end all hostilities urgently and move towards a comprehensive and lasting peace" .
