The UN envoy to Yemen is considering persuading the Houthis to end the siege of Taiz
The UN Secretary-General’s special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, arrived in Yemen’s capital Sanaa on Wednesday to try to persuade the Houthi group to accept a proposal to end the siege of the city of Taiz.
“I will meet with the Houthi leadership to discuss the proposal”, he told reporters at Sana’a airport.
On Tuesday, the internationally recognized Yemeni government said it had accepted a revised proposal by Mr. Grundberg for lifting the siege of Taiz, which would reopen a main road leading to this strategic city in southwestern Yemen.
The Houthis also announced late Tuesday night to Wednesday that they are ready to reopen some secondary roads around the government-held city, but remain reluctant to reopen the main road.
Taiz has been under siege since civil war broke out in Yemen in late 2014. Lifting the siege would facilitate the movement of citizens and their access to humanitarian aid.
The people of Taiz have organized multiple protests calling for an acceleration of the siege and the demining of the main roads around the city.
The lifting of the siege of Taiz is the last major condition to be fulfilled under the agreement reached by the warring parties of the country before the ceasefire entered into force in April.
Various discussions on the issue have taken place over the past two months but have not yielded tangible results.
