CAIRO (AP) – The United Nations (UN) Special Envoy for Yemen said yesterday that Yemen’s warring parties have agreed to renew a nationwide truce for another two months.
“I commend the parties for taking these steps, and for agreeing to extend the truce,” Hans Grundberg said in a statement.
“The truce represents a significant shift in the trajectory of the war and has been achieved through responsible and courageous decision making by the parties.”
The ceasefire between Yemen’s internationally recognised government and the Houthi rebels first came into effect on April 2.
It has been the first nationwide truce in six years in Yemen’s conflict. The announcement, which is the outcome of UN continuous and concerted efforts, came only few hours before the original truce was set to expire.
The fighting erupted in 2014 when Iran-backed Houthi rebels descended from their northern enclave and took over the capital of Sanaa, forcing the internationally recognised government to flee.
The provisions of the original truce included reopening the roads around Taiz, establishing two commercial flights a week between Sanaa and Jordan and Egypt, and also allowing 18 vessels carrying fuel into the port of Hodeida.
