Status: 03/30/2022 08:25 a.m
Saudi Arabia does not want to carry out military operations in Yemen during the fasting month of Ramadan. This is intended to support the peace negotiations in Riyadh – in which the Yemeni Houthi rebels are not taking part.
The Saudi-led coalition against the Houthi rebels in Yemen has announced a ceasefire. The coalition announced that it should start at 6 a.m. today. A “positive environment” should be created during the Islamic month of fasting, Ramadan, in order to work towards peace. At the same time, this should help political negotiations. It was not announced how long the ceasefire should last. Other ceasefires unilaterally called by the coalition over the past two years have failed.
Representatives of the internationally recognized Yemeni government, the USA and the UN are currently meeting in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh for negotiations under the auspices of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes six countries on the Arabian Peninsula. The Houthis, however, do not attend the talks because the venue is in their enemy’s country. Nevertheless, the UN envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said he welcomed efforts to de-escalate the conflict immediately and find a political solution.
Houthis also call for a ceasefire
The Houthi rebels announced a three-day ceasefire over the weekend and offered a permanent ceasefire. “We are ready to turn the three-day ceasefire into a final and lasting commitment,” said rebel leader Mahdi al-Mashat. Saudi Arabia must “end the siege and end its attacks on Yemen once and for all”. The rebels had previously attacked several targets in Saudi Arabia, including an oil facility near the Formula 1 race track in Jeddah – which Saudi Arabia in turn responded to with counterattacks.
Iran, which supports the Houthis, has described the ceasefire offered by the Houthis as a “strong message”. A spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry said the temporary ceasefire could be a good basis for ending the current war.
“The worst humanitarian crisis in the world”
In 2014, the Houthi rebels seized large parts of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa. Since 2015, Saudi Arabia has been conducting a military operation against the Houthis with other countries and the internationally recognized government. Sunni Saudi Arabia sees them as an ally of its Shiite nemesis Iran. According to the UN, around 380,000 people have already been killed in the conflict, and millions more have had to flee. There is a dangerous famine that is affecting the weakest in particular: According to the UN, around two million children under the age of five are malnourished. The UN speaks of the greatest humanitarian catastrophe in the world.