A war ravaged town in Yemen
New York/Riyadh/Sana’a: Peace in the region got a set-back after Saudi Arabia’s ceasefire offer to end the war in Yemen was rejected by Yemen’s Houthi rebels who described it as “nothing new” and said that could not be the basis on any negotiation between the two. Last year too, a unilaterally declared Saudi ceasefire had not worked out.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud had told reporters about the ceasefire offer in Riyadh on Monday. The new Saudi proposal talked of allowing fuel and food imports through Yemen’s main port, Hodeidah, as well as restarting political negotiations between the Saudi Arabia-backed Yemeni government of President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi and the Houthis.
While Hadi welcomed the Saudi move, the Houthis said they wanted complete lifting of the blockade on Sanaa airport and Hodeidah port. The rebels’ Al-Masirah television quoted Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam as saying “Saudi Arabia must declare an end to the aggression and lift the blockade completely, but putting forward ideas that have been discussed for over a year is nothing new”.
In New York, the United Nations’ secretariat, while welcoming Saudi Arabia’s announcement that “supported” the UN’s peace initiative, stated that it was studying the Saudi proposal. “Right now, it’s still early days. We have this announcement made. We appreciate it,” Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, told reporters last night (IST). He said that the UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths had been working to secure a nationwide ceasefire, the re-opening of Sana’a Airport to civilian air traffic, allowing additional fuel and commodities to enter Hudaydah Port and resuming a political process to end the conflict.
Haq said Griffiths had been working extensively with the parties and will be in touch with the Houthis, as with all parties, “to see whether we can go further on this”. He further informed that the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, David Gressly had visited Marib in the weekend to see first-hand the growing humanitarian impact of renewed hostilities in the governorate. “During his visit, Mr. Gressly met with local authorities, including the Governor of Marib, and with humanitarian partners working on the ground. He also visited two displacement sites, where he met with internally displaced people and community members. Up to 15,000 people have been displaced in Marib since fighting escalated in early February. Many of them live in extremely precarious conditions,” Haq said.
“There is no doubt that every effort must be made to end the conflict in Yemen and address the suffering of the Yemeni people and the United Nations looks forward to continuing its work with the parties to achieve this goal,” he stated. To a pointed question on what role did the UN have in conveying Saudi Arabia’s offer to the Houthis, or whether it was strictly conveyed by Saudi Arabia, Haq said special envoy Griffiths “will now see what he can do to move forward on the sort of priorities he’s had following this announcement by the Saudis. So, he will follow up with all the parties, including with Ansar Allah [Houthis]”.
– global bihari bureau
