To alleviate the suffering of Yemenis, UN envoy calls on Houthis to open Taiz road

Opening roads is crucial to alleviating the human suffering of Yemenis and building trust, said UN envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg.

This came during his meeting in Muscat on Tuesday with the head of the Houthi negotiation team, Mohammed Abdul Salam, a number of Omani officials, and members of the diplomatic corps in Muscat.

A statement issued by the UN envoy’s office said the meeting discussed ways to implement the truce, especially the priority of opening roads in Taiz and other provinces.

The UN envoy also stressed the importance of the opportunity presented by the truce to provide tangible relief to Yemenis across the country and reach a political settlement.

The UN envoy to Yemen conducted a new round of peace efforts aimed at extending and saving the truce from collapse, after al-Houthi rejected a proposal to lift the siege of Taiz and open roads to other provinces.

Earlier, Rashad al-Alimi, head of the Presidential Council, said progress on other issues hinges on lifting the siege of Taiz and opening the crossings in a firmer position in response to the Houthi militia’s rejection of the UN proposal, which includes opening five main roads.

This comes after Houthi militias refused to make any concessions in UN-sponsored negotiations between the Yemeni government and Jordanian putschists for two weeks to open roads in Taiz and other provinces under the UN truce.

The humanitarian truce came into effect on April 2, and was extended for an additional two months on June 2, as the Yemeni government fulfilled its terms and Houthi did not implement any provisions including lifting the siege of Taiz and delivering salaries.