Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism – UN website reported that the UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg told the Security Council that End of truce in Yemen heralds the risk of recurrence of war.
He told ambassadors that since the truce began, six and a half months ago, it had started to alleviate the suffering of Yemenis, after more than seven years of civil war, and offered “a truly historic opportunity” to work towards a lasting settlement.
But the period of relative peace between internationally recognized Government forces and Houthi rebels ended 11 days ago, and now both must choose to either “preserve and build on the truce”, or return to war.
“The achievement and benefits of the truce should not be underestimated”, he said, flagging that it brought “the longest period of calm yet”.
Mr. Grundberg said during the pause in fighting, there had been no major military operations, and a 60 per cent decrease in casualties.
Sana’a airport had finally opened to international passengers, enabling almost 27,000 Yemenis to get medical treatment overseas, and pursue educational or business opportunities abroad.
Over 1.4 million metric tonnes of fuel had been delivered to the crucial Hudaydah ports on the Red Sea; and there had been UN-brokered face-to-face meetings on military de-escalation.
“It is important to remember that the truce was never intended as an end in itself, but as a building block to enhance trust between the parties and establish a conducive environment to work toward a political solution to the conflict”, the UN envoy reminded.
