The UN envoy for Yemen regretted Monday August 15 during a meeting of the Security Council the lack of progress to reopen roads leading to the besieged city of Taez in the south-west of the country, key to improve the humanitarian situation.
The truce in force since April 2 and renewed again on August 2, at the last minute, "
allows the continuation of the longest pause in the fighting since the beginning of the war
", commented Hans Grundberg, noting that this truce "
continues to be largely respected militarily
".
This renewal "
allows us to continue to work diligently to reach a more extensive truce agreement
" by October 2, he added, ensuring " to
intensify
" his efforts with the parties in this direction.
In this context, "
the opening of roads in Taez and other governorates is always at the forefront of my efforts
", assured the emissary, noting the major importance of this opening for "
the population of Taez, the population more generally and for the economy
".
But "
it is regrettable that despite these efforts, there has not been more progress in reopening roads
," he insisted before the UN Security Council.
Faced with one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula is devastated by the conflict between government forces, backed by a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia since 2015, and Houthi rebels. backed by Iran, Riyadh's rival in the region.
“
Although we welcome the truce and its extension, we must be clear about its limits.
The ongoing violence and civilian casualties in the country are one such limitation.
The massive humanitarian crisis is another
,” said Ghada Eltahir Mudawi, on behalf of the United Nations Office of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Also emphasizing the need to reopen the roads, she also expressed concern about the possible cessation "
in a few weeks
", for lack of funding, of the verification mechanism put in place by the UN to allow the arrival of commercial ships, carrying including food, in ports that are not under the control of government authorities.