Rejecting the UN proposal, Houthi militias continue their intransigence in Taiz
Houthi militias’ consultations on the proposal of the United Nations envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, to partially lift the siege on the city of Taiz ended with a categorical rejection of the UN proposal and an emphasis on the continuation of the siege.
The Houthi stance came in a statement by an official source in the militia’s negotiating team on Taiz published by Houthi media. The response included the insistence of the militias that the city of Taiz remain under fire and siege for the seventh year in a row.
The Houthi source said that the United Nations was presented with observations on the UN representative’s proposal to open roads in Taiz and some Yemeni provinces.
The Houthi response to the UN envoy’s proposal included confirmation of the militia’s vision of opening non-main roads that pass through the army’s fronts in Taiz province for use by militias as supply lines, one of which was a donkey route in the last century.
While the UN envoy had proposed opening five roads to Taiz city, which the Yemeni government accepted, the militias proposed opening one mountain road that was not viable as a major outlet to the besieged city of Taiz.
With their declared position, the militias reject all international calls and UN actions to lift the siege on Taiz and open corridors for the smooth transit of people and food commodities.
The international positions issued by the Security Council during last Tuesday’s meeting unanimously stressed the need to end the siege of Taiz and to open roads for the unfettered passage of civilians and the flow of goods to the population.
At the same meeting, UN Special Envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg told the Security Council that he had not received a response from Houthi to a proposal approved by the Yemeni government to open roads to the besieged city of Taiz.
The UN envoy said that after two rounds of deliberations on the options presented by each side, he presented to the parties a proposal to gradually open roads in Taiz and elsewhere, which the militias rejected in their position announced on Thursday.
At the meeting, Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for Political Affairs, Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations, invited the UN envoy to Yemen to intensify efforts to open the main roads leading to Taiz,
The British UN envoy, Barbara Woodward, also called on the Houthis to open the main roads to Taiz as soon as possible.
The US representative to the Security Council, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said Houthi militias must demonstrate their commitment by reopening roads to Taiz immediately.
The government delegation in charge of opening roads and crossings in Taiz stressed the need to issue a firm position from the UN mediator in response to the Houthis’ rejection of his proposal to open a main road to the city.
Nabil Jamel, a member of the government delegation, said in a press statement: “We were informed of the Houthi response, which was negative”.
He noted that the Houthis had reintroduced the same dirt-side roads as the UN envoy’s proposal and excluded the only major road contained in the proposal itself.
Jamil said the militia’s response reflects the Houthis’ continued consumption of the second truce in the same way as the first.
He added: “We still hope that there will be a position by the UN envoy to announce to the world that Houthi rejected his proposal and obstructed the implementation of Article 4 of the truce Agreement, while other items in his interest were implemented”.
Nabil Jamel, a member of the government negotiating delegation, said al-Houthi’s militias put the UN envoy in a position where he should state explicitly that they are impeding UN and international efforts to achieve comprehensive peace in Yemen.
