Efforts to extend a truce between Yemen’s government and the Houthi rebels appear to be “in trouble”, the US envoy to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Tuesday.
If the truce — set to expire this week — is not extended, Yemen could be plunged back into bloody civil war.
Ms Thomas-Greenfield said Washington was concerned about an apparent breakdown in talks aimed at extending the two-month ceasefire, which took effect on April 2 and has largely held, bringing rare moments of calm to Yemen's long-suffering population.
“The fact that these talks seem to have come — they haven't ended yet, but seem to be a bit in trouble — is troublesome to us,” Ms Thomas-Greenfield told reporters in New York.
“We encourage the parties on both sides to continue those efforts and find a peaceful way to provide needed humanitarian assistance to the people of Yemen.”
Her comments came amid a flurry of diplomacy to stop Yemen from sliding back into all-out fighting between the Houthis, Yemen’s internationally recognised government and the Saudi Arabia-led coalition seeking to restore it to power.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan about the truce, while UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged Gen Rashad Al Alimi, head of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, to work for its renewal.
In that call, the UN chief “underscored the critical role of the truce in addressing some of the most immediate humanitarian and economic needs to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people”, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Tuesday.
Talks to extend the truce have been dogged by a Houthi ground blockade around the government-held city of Taez, Yemen's third largest. The truce deal featured the reopening of roads around Taez, recommencing flights to the rebel-held capital Sanaa and other goals.
Save The Children, Oxfam, the Norwegian Refugee Council and other aid agencies operating in Yemen on Tuesday urged the warring parties to extend the truce, which has eased the suffering of millions.
“We have seen the positive humanitarian impacts of the truce,” said the joint statement from more than 30 charities.
“We … urge you to extend the truce agreement, build further on the gains you have made possible over the past two months and work towards peace for the people of Yemen.”
Earlier this month, the NRC said the number of civilian casualties in Yemen had more than halved since the truce — the country’s first nationwide ceasefire agreement since 2016 — came into effect.
Under the truce, more than 1,000 passengers have flown between Sanaa and Jordan, and a route to Egypt is expected to begin soon. Flights have given hundreds of sick Yemenis access to “life-saving medical treatment” abroad, the aid groups said.
The Houthis seized control of Sanaa in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention to support the government the following year.
Hundreds of thousands of people have died in the war and the country is on the brink of famine.
Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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- Donald Trump - hand-bound leather book with Declaration of Independence
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The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
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Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
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- Option 2: 50% across three years
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SPEC SHEET
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Asia Cup Qualifier
Final
UAE v Hong Kong
Live on OSN Cricket HD. Coverage starts at 5.30am
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
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Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
