US Secretary of State presses for truce extension in Yemen

Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) President Rashad al-Alimi on Monday in New York during one of his first meetings on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Blinken affirmed strong US support for the PLC and al-Alimi’s leadership, the State Department said after the meeting.

The top US diplomat and Yemen’s president discussed the need for extending the UN-mediated truce inside the war-torn country, with both calling on the Iran-backed Houthis to help ease the humanitarian crisis.

Both officials voiced their support for more steps under the truce, which include opening roads in Taiz and other areas, expanding commercial flights from Sana’a airport, and ensuring salary payments to tens of thousands of teachers, nurses, and other civil servants.

A UN-mediated ceasefire started in April for 60 days and was renewed twice for the same period. The current truce is set to expire on October 2, and the Houthis have refused to support a six-month deal. Washington has long said that the truce was the best way forward and the only way to reach a permanent ceasefire.

Yemen’s civil war erupted in 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital of Sanaa and much of northern Yemen and forced the internationally recognized government into exile. The Saudi-led coalition entered the war in early 2015 to try to restore the government to power. The UN says the conflict has created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.