The head of the American diplomacy Antony Blinken urged the new leader of Yemen on Thursday April 21 to reach a lasting peace, after more than seven years of devastating conflict in this Gulf country.
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The secretary of state spoke by phone with Rashad al-Alimi, the head of a new council leading the Saudi-backed government after the former president handed over the reins of power.
Antony Blinken has voiced support for the UN-brokered two-month truce between the government and Iran-backed Houthi rebels - a truce that has been widely held since April 2, the start of Ramadan.
According to the UN, the conflict in Yemen has killed 377,000 people and pushed the country's 30 million inhabitants to the brink of famine, representing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.
The secretary of state "
stressed the need to capture the momentum of these recent positive events to achieve a lasting ceasefire and a comprehensive peace process
," said State Department spokesman Ned Price.
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The US Foreign Minister also called for progress in reopening roads to places like Taez, Yemen's third-largest city.
This reopening was another key element of the truce brokered by UN special envoy Hans Grundberg.
Shortly after taking office, in February 2021, US President Joe Biden withdrew US support for the Riyadh-led coalition against the Houthis who control a majority of the country, reversing the policies of his predecessor Donald Trump.
But the Biden administration has also railed against repeated attacks by the Houthis, including on the United Arab Emirates, allies of Washington.
