Lhe Houthi rebels in Yemen announced on Saturday that they would halt their offensives in their country and Saudi Arabia for “three days”, following a series of attacks on the neighboring kingdom.
The conflict in Yemen for more than seven years has pitted pro-government forces, backed by an international coalition led by Riyadh, against Houthi rebels, backed by Iran.
“Missile and drone strikes as well as all military actions against Saudi Arabia will be suspended for a period of three days,” Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdelsalam said on Twitter, quoting Mahdi al-Mashat, top leader of the rebels.
This truce could become “a final and permanent commitment” if Saudi Arabia lifts the “blockade” on Yemen, ceases its air raids and withdraws its “foreign forces” on Yemeni soil, added Mohammed Abdelsalam.
This engagement also offers an end to Houthi offensives on Yemeni territory, especially around the oil-producing city of Marib, where the battle has raged in recent months. It also includes the exchange of prisoners.
The announcement comes the day after a new series of rebel attacks against Saudi Arabia, one of which caused – without causing any casualties – a gigantic fire in an oil site in Jeddah, close to the Formula 1 circuit which hosts the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Blockade
In response, the military coalition, which is entering its seventh year of intervention in Yemen, carried out airstrikes overnight from Friday to Saturday in rebel-held areas in Sanaa (north) and Hodeidah (west).
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday condemned the rebel strikes and reprisals by the Saudi-led coalition, calling on all parties to exercise “maximum restraint” and reach a “negotiated agreement to end the conflict”.
Israel, a country which does not have diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia, expressed its side of its “pain” in Riyadh, after the rebel attacks, pointing the finger at Iran. “This attack is further proof that Iran’s regional aggression has no limits,” Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Twitter.
French President Emmanuel Macron also condemned the Houthi rebel attack and expressed “solidarity” with Saudi Arabia.
The Houthis’ announcement also comes as an Iranian nuclear deal, after several months of talks in Vienna, is about to be concluded, in the “days” to come according to statements on Saturday by the head of European diplomacy Joseph Borrell.
In addition to the capture of the capital Sanaa in 2014, the rebels seized most of the north of the country, the poorest of the Arabian Peninsula and plunged because of the war into one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.
However, the military coalition controls the country’s air and maritime space. While only UN flights are allowed through Sanaa airport, the Houthis have long posed the lifting of this “blockade” as a condition for talks.
Earlier on Saturday, a Saudi official told AFP that the rebels were preparing to propose a truce and intra-Yemeni talks.
Discussions
“The Houthis have proposed, through mediators, an initiative including a truce, the opening of the airport (of Sanaa) and the port (of Hodeidah) as well as intra-Yemeni talks,” the official said. Saudi close to the file.
“We are waiting for an official announcement from them because they are constantly changing their position,” added the official, who requested anonymity.
A Riyadh-based diplomat told AFP, also on condition of anonymity, that the UN’s special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, had started talks to reach a truce during Ramadan, the month Muslim fasting which takes place this year in April.
The war in Yemen has directly and indirectly killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions more, according to the UN. A large part of the population, especially children, is facing acute hunger, with situations close to famine.
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27/03/2022 03:03:01 – Sanaa (AFP) – © 2022 AFP