Linderking visits UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia to consolidate Yemen truce

The United States announced Thursday that envoy Tim Linderking will travel to the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Saudi Arabia in an effort to consolidate the ceasefire in Yemen, which has been at war for eight years.

The US special envoy will begin his regional tour on Thursday and seek to “pave the way for a sustainable truce and a comprehensive and sustainable solution to the conflict between Yemenis,” a State Department statement said.

On August 2, the UN announced that it was extending the truce in Yemen for “an additional two months” in the hope of “intensifying” negotiations to reach a more “sustainable” peace.

Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed bin Mubarak said Monday the Yemeni government supports any chance to extend the UN-brokered truce in his country.

“Any chance or opportunity to extend the truce or alleviate the people’s suffering to reach a sustainable peace with us,” Mubarak said during a joint press conference with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi in Amman.

The foreign-backed militias imposed war on us, and the truce is an opportunity to reach a political agreement,” bin Mubarak said, adding that “the Iranian project targets Yemen.

US President Joe Biden welcomed the extension of the truce and the “unprecedented period of calm” in Yemen.

On April 2, the truce came into effect under UN mediation. The deal included commercial flights from Sana’a International Airport, which has only received aid flights since 2016, a rare glimmer of hope after a devastating war.

On June 2, it was extended for another two months.

During his tour, the US envoy will call for increased international aid to Yemen.

The US Department of State said in a statement that Washington “calls on all donor countries to show generosity and immediately implement their previous pledges for the benefit of the people of Yemen”, stressing that the US provided $1 billion in humanitarian aid to Yemen this year.

On the ground, the Yemeni army’s media center said Thursday that four soldiers were killed and 25 others were wounded in 351 Houthi violations of the UN truce in the past 72 hours.

This comes as part of 351 breaches of the UN truce by the Iranian-backed Houthi group from 8 to 10 August, according to a Yemeni army statement.

The violations took place on the fronts of Hodeidah, Taiz, Dhale, Abyan, Hajjah, al-Jawf and Marib provinces, the center said in a statement carried by the official Yemeni news agency.

Over the past three days, the army thwarted more than five infiltration attempts by Houthi-affiliated armed groups in Marib and Taiz provinces, the center said.

Yemen has been embroiled in a conflict since 2014 between the Houthis and government forces backed by a Saudi-led military coalition. The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people directly or through its aftermath, the UN said.