Yemen truce renewed for another two months

The landmark truce in Yemen, which has been holding since April, has been renewed for an additional two months through 2 October, UN Special Envoy for the country, Hans Grundberg, announced on Tuesday.

The extension includes a commitment by the Government and Houthi militia to intensify negotiations to reach an expanded agreement as soon as possible.

Saudi Foreign Ministry welcomed in a statement the extension of the truce in Yemen, underscoring the importance of reopening the humanitarian routes to Taiz that has been besieged by the Iran-backed Houthi militias for seven years.

It hailed the efforts exerted by United Nations envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg in bolstering the commitment to the truce in line with Saudi Arabia’s initiative towards the war-torn country that was announced in March 2021.

The truce, said the ministry, primarily aims at reaching a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire in Yemen and kicking off a political process between the legitimate government and Houthis.

It stressed the importance of the Houthis committing to the truce, immediately reopening roads to Taiz to ease the suffering of its people and depositing revenues in Yemen's central bank.

The expanded truce proposal would provide for reaching an agreement on a transparent and effective disbursement mechanism for the regular payment of civil servant salaries and civilian pensions, the opening of roads in Taiz and other governorates, opening additional destinations to and from Sanaa International Airport, and providing fuel and its regular flow of fuel to the ports of Hodeidah.