Will the truce hold?
UAE welcomes two-month truce in Yemen
The Iran-backed Houthi rebel group welcomes the UN-brokered truce and says it is committed to it as long as the other side abides by it.
Saturday 02/04/2022
Will the truce hold?
CAIRO - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has welcomed the announcement of a UN-brokered truce in Yemen and the halt of all military operations there and on the Saudi-Yemeni border, the UAE's state news agency WAM reported on Saturday.
Earlier on Saturday, the Iran-aligned Houthi rebel group, which has been fighting a coalition including the UAE in Yemen, also welcomed the truce and said it was committed to it as long as the other side abided by it, a spokesperson said on Twitter.
The nationwide truce is the first for years in Yemen's seven-year conflict and will allow fuel imports into Houthi-held areas and some flights to operate from Sanaa airport, a United Nations envoy said on Friday.
The UN-brokered deal between the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis is the most significant step yet towards ending a conflict that has killed tens of thousands and pushed millions into hunger. The last coordinated cessation of hostilities nationwide was during peace talks in 2016.
The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after the Houthis ousted the internationally recognised government from the capital, Sanaa, in late 2014.