Yemen’s Houthi rebels consider extending truce

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Houthis say they have been targeting Israeli-linked vessels, but Washington says dozens of countries have connections to ships that have been attacked. (AFP)
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May 19, 2022 1:55 pm
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  • The two-month ceasefire, which went into effect on April 2, coinciding with the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, has made a considerable positive impact
  • According to United Nations figures, more than 150,000 people have died in Yemen's war and millions have been displaced
Yemen’s Houthi rebels said Wednesday they are considering renewing a United Nations-brokered truce with the government which expires in two weeks.The Houthis’ “Supreme Political Council will consider the request for an extension of the truce, which ends on June 2,” the rebels’ Saba news agency said.The report comes a day after the UN envoy, Hans Grundberg, said he was continuing to “engage the parties to overcome outstanding challenges and to ensure the extension of the truce”.

The two-month ceasefire, which went into effect on April 2, coinciding with the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, has made a “considerable positive impact on the daily lives of many Yemenis,” Grundberg said.

But he added that he was seeing unconfirmed reports of continuing armed clashes that were causing civilian casualties.

According to United Nations figures, more than 150,000 people have died in Yemen’s war and millions have been displaced.

The conflict pits Yemen’s Saudi-supported government, officially based in  the southern port of Aden, against the Iran-backed Houthis.

The Houthis seized the capital Sanaa in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention the following year and igniting a war that has caused what the United Nations terms the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

As part of the truce, the first commercial flight in nearly six years took off from Yemen’s rebel-held capital Monday.

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