Fake truce – Houthi’s moves angered Yemenis
The announcement by Houthi militias of a temporary truce has angered Yemenis who described it as a fake truce as part of their evasions of UN and Gulf peace opportunities and efforts.
Houthi militias leapt on UN efforts to reach a truce during Ramadan and Gulf consultations between Yemeni parties to declare a mock truce in an effort to align their forces on the ground.
On Monday, the Houthis went out to announce what they called a unilateral initiative, including a three-day temporary lull, following a series of cross-border terrorist attacks targeting oil facilities in Saudi Arabia that have drawn wide international condemnation.
Houthi militias claimed that the mock lull in domestic and foreign terrorist attacks would come into effect at 6 p.m. Sunday, but Yemeni activists considered it a new ploy to make peace in Yemen.
A political source in Sanaa said that the militias are suffering from major military exhaustion and are facing complex difficulties in compensating for their human losses on the front lines or those who were killed recently by the Arab coalition strikes.
Houthi militias no longer rely on ballistic missiles, booby-trapped drones, and terrorist attacks toward Saudi Arabia in an effort to obtain political concessions and gains, and more time to regroup their advanced ranks on the front lines, he said.
The Houthi announcement is a mock de-escalation that will not go beyond its media and will have no impact on reality, he said. All its steps on the ground indicate short-term and long-term preparations to price new rounds of war and violence in the country.
Observers believe that Houthi’s maneuver is aimed at jumping over the efforts of the United Nations envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, to reach a truce during the month of Ramadan and to thwart the efforts of the Gulf Cooperation Council to hold Yemeni-Yemeni consultations, which are expected to begin in the coming days.
On Sunday, UN envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg said he would continue to communicate with all parties and make efforts towards a truce during the month of Ramadan, calling for an end to the escalation and welcoming any steps in this direction.
Yemen crisis spurred
The announcement by Houthi militias sparked outrage in the Yemeni street and was seen by politicians as a new ploy under the cover of a fake truce to thwart the Gulf Co-operation Council’s (GCC) peace efforts.
It is also an indirect blow to UN and international efforts to achieve a comprehensive ceasefire in the country and a comprehensive political settlement, according to Yemeni politicians.
The Yemeni Ambassador in London and prominent politician Yasin Said Numan said the Houthi militia’s announcement makes a mockery of the Yemeni crisis they created with their bloody coup and their confiscation of the Yemeni state in favor of the sectarian Iranian expansionist project, and calls for what he called a ceasefire with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The Houthi militias are repeating, in a miserable way, what they have always said, that they are at war with coalition countries and nothing else, the official said on his Facebook page, referring to the Houthis presenting themselves as the sole representatives of the Yemeni people.
Numan attacked the Houthi announcement, saying, what a miserable announcement … and what a crime you committed against Yemen. He noted that the announcement by the militias was intended to eliminate the Yemeni problem and uphold its conditions before any understandings.
Evasion and rearranging of rows
Kamel al-Khodani, president of the Building Life for Development, Rights and Freedoms Foundation in Yemen, said on his Twitter account that the Houthi militia’s announcement is a clear ploy to calm the anger of Saudi Arabia after the attacks and the international community.
The Yemeni human rights and political commentator wrote that the Houthi militias, if they pass their announcement, aim to calm the reaction and anger to the targeting of oil installations and to foil the upcoming consultations that are expected to be held in Riyadh under the auspices of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
As for Yemeni activist Mohammed Sagheer, militias on the ground are preparing for a major battle in the west of the country at a time when international and local parties are busy promoting the Houthi declaration.
Sagheer said that Houthi militias continue to mobilize and bring fighters from Hodeidah, Ibb, Dhamar and Hajjah to the western fronts in preparation for a ground offensive on Al Khawkhah, the interim capital of Hodeida under the internationally recognized government, confirming the monitoring of large groups.
He pointed out that there is no truce on the ground by the Houthi militias and the Arab coalition must be prepared for all options of escalation, including supporting the Yemeni forces to respond with surgical operations to eradicate the cancer of the coup in the country.
Houthi’s announcement of a phantom truce follows terrorist attacks on oil installations in Saudi Arabia, carried out at the behest of the Tehran regime and taking advantage of the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian war on global energy, Sagheer said.
