Yemen makes a new attempt at peace
Houthis have been fighting government troops in Yemen for years with little attention from the international community. Although the intensity of the fighting has eased, the humanitarian situation remains catastrophic. A new peace process is now to be initiated under UN mediation.
According to the UN, the parties to the conflict in Yemen, which has been going on for over nine years, have committed to a renewed ceasefire and accepted the opening of a new peace process. He welcomed the commitment of the parties to the conflict to take these steps, explained the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, after a series of talks with negotiators in Saudi Arabia and Oman. The peace negotiations as part of a "comprehensive political process" are to take place under the auspices of the UN.
According to the UN, the agreement now reached includes a commitment to pay the salaries of state employees, the opening of several roads, including to the major city of Tais, which is blocked by the Houthis fighting against the Yemeni government, and a resumption of oil exports. The citizens of Yemen expected "tangible progress towards lasting peace" from the new agreement, explained Grundberg.
The conflict in the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula and its consequences are among the worst humanitarian disasters worldwide. The Shiite Houthis have been in a civil war with the internationally recognized government of Yemen for years and have controlled the Yemeni capital Sanaa since 2014. In March 2015, a military alliance led by Saudi Arabia began to intervene in support of the government forces. However, the alliance did not succeed in defeating the Iranian-backed Huthi fighters.
Since the war between Israel and the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas began eleven weeks ago, the Houthis have also attracted worldwide attention with a series of attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea. According to the US Department of Defense, they carried out 100 attacks on merchant ships using drones and missiles. The Houthis see themselves as part of an "axis of resistance" against Israel.
However, the intensity of the fighting in the Yemen conflict had decreased since a ceasefire brokered by the UN in April 2022. This expired in October 2022, but is still largely being observed.
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The renewed ceasefire and the initiation of peace talks in Yemen are a significant step towards ending the decades-long conflict between the government troops and the Huthi rebels. Despite the truce, the humanitarian situation in Yemen, particularly the war-torn country's poorest regions, remains dire. The international community is closely watching the peace talks in the Middle East, hoping for a lasting truce that would bring peace to Yemen.
Source: www.ntv.de
