War in Yemen: Saudi Arabia announces ceasefire during Ramadan
The years-long proxy war between the Saudi-led military alliance and Iran-backed Houthi rebels has devastated much of Yemen. Now Riyadh wants to temporarily stop fighting.
In Yemen, which has been badly scarred by years of war, there are hopes for a temporary ceasefire. As the military coalition under Saudi Arabian leadership announced, there will be a ceasefire during the Islamic month of fasting, Ramadan. “The cessation of military operations” will come into effect at 6 a.m. on Wednesday morning, the coalition announced, according to the Saudi Arabian press agency.
It is about creating “the right conditions” for the “success” of the talks and “creating a positive environment for peace in Yemen during the holy month of Ramadan.”
However, the Houthi rebels did not want to take part in the meeting in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh on Wednesday. There, representatives of the internationally recognized Yemeni government, the United States and the United Nations gather under the auspices of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes six countries on the Arabian Peninsula.
Houthis apparently do not recognize Saudi Arabian statement
According to the Reuters news agency, Houthi leader Mohammed al-Bukaiti said via Twitter that the “siege of Yemen” was a military act carried out by force of arms. Without an end to the “siege,” the announcement of the coalition would be meaningless. The rebels would accordingly continue their military operations to break the siege.
Over the weekend, the Houthis had already unilaterally declared a three-day ceasefire and offered a “permanent” ceasefire. “We are ready to turn this declaration (of the three-day ceasefire) into a final and permanent commitment,” rebel leader Mahdi al-Maschat said, according to the AFP news agency. Saudi Arabia must “end the siege and stop its attacks on Yemen once and for all,” it said.
UN envoy Grundberg “grateful”
“I am very grateful for the unanimous support expressed for the efforts of the United Nations to find an immediate de-escalation and a political solution to the conflict,” UN envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg said before the ceasefire announcement explained by Saudi Arabia on Twitter.
The conflict had recently spread beyond Yemen. The rebels had attacked several targets in Saudi Arabia, including an oil facility near the Formula 1 race track in Jeddah. Despite the ceasefire declared by the Houthis, the coalition launched airstrikes in Yemen on Sunday.
The Iranian government, which supports the Houthis, described the ceasefire offered by the rebels over the weekend as a “strong message”. The draft could “be a good basis for ending the current war,” said a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in Tehran.
Prisoner exchange announced
With the ceasefire, the rebels had also announced an agreement on a large exchange of prisoners. Accordingly, 1,400 government prisoners are to be exchanged for 823 Houthi prisoners. Among them are 16 Saudi Arabian citizens, three Sudanese and a brother of Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansur Hadi. The Yemeni government, on the other hand, only said that the exchange was “still being examined”.
