Yemeni President considers UN proposal to extend truce

30th July 2022

1 minute read

The Presidential Command Council in Yemen said that UN envoy Hans Grundberg had put forward a new proposal to extend the truce and insisted that Houthi fulfill his pledges.

According to the official Saba news agency, the Presidential Command Council discussed in its meeting on Saturday, from Foreign Minister Ahmed Bin Mubarak, a letter submitted by UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg on the truce and the proposed framework for its extension, in reference to his study of the proposal and its terms.

This comes “in light of the intransigence of the Houthi militias in fulfilling their obligations under the truce declaration, their violations and their continued violations on various fronts”, the news agency said, indicating the council’s adherence to the priority of obliging the Houthis to implement the truce, including opening major roads to Taiz.

The Presidential Command Council also received a briefing by the Chairman of the Military and Security Committee, Major General Haitham Qasim Tahir, on the preliminary results of the work of the Joint Commission and the steps covered by its tasks to achieve security and stability and ensure the integration of the armed and security forces under a unified national command structure.

The UN envoy is racing to persuade the Yemeni parties to extend the humanitarian truce that came into effect on April 2 for an additional period of time, but this is hampered by the intransigence of Houthi militias, while the Yemeni government is demanding international and UN guarantees for Houthi implementation of his commitments.

The Yemeni government’s demands center on lifting the siege of Taiz and paying salaries for Hodeidah port revenues, while Houthi militias have raised their demands by delivering salaries, unlimited access to Sanaa airport, and an uncontrolled flow of ships to Hodeidah port as part of the obstacles to any chance for peace.

The truce is only four days old and is scheduled to end Tuesday evening if the Yemeni parties do not agree to a third extension.