Local Editor
The United Nations’ envoy for Yemen said on Friday after meeting with the Yemeni national delegation in Oman that he hoped to announce a ceasefire in the conflict in the next few days.
Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, speaking to Oman’s state news agency ONA, said Ansarullah representatives and their allies had said a ceasefire was necessary. But he added he had yet to meet with fugitive Yemen President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi to discuss the matter.
"They were long and positive meetings, which make me optimistic. They have agreed during them to accept a ceasefire for 72 hours in Yemen which could be extended," he told ONA.
He would meet President Hadi in Saudi Arabia later on Friday, he said.
Hadi’s embattled regime, which is supported by an alliance of Arab states led by Saudi Arabia, is battling the Houthis who took over the Yemeni capital Sana’a in September 2014.
The Houthis toughened demands this week for the resumption of peace talks to end the 19-month-old civil war, saying Hadi must go and an agreement must be reached on the presidency, complicating United Nations efforts to bring the parties back to talks.
A shaky ceasefire between the Hadi regime and Houthi Ansarulah revolutionaries, took effect in April and brought some respite from the war.
Peace talks broke down in August, though, and Saudi-led air strikes on the Yemeni people have resumed.
Saudi Arabia began its deadly campaign against Yemen in late March 2015. The strikes were meant to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement and restore power to fugitive former president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
About 10,000 people have been killed and over 16,000 injured since Riyadh launched the airstrikes. The Saudi aggression has also taken a heavy toll on Yemen’s facilities and infrastructure.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
