ADEN (Dispatches) – An updated UN proposal calling for an extension of the existing truce set to expire on October 2 has been received by both sides of Yemen’s Saudi-led war, but its fate remains unclear.
According to a statement released by Yemen’s Saba news agency, the Saudi-backed forces in the south received an updated proposal from the UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg to expand the truce starting from October 2.
Yemen’s Ansarullah resistance movement has warned that the truce between the country’s army and an invading Saudi-led coalition is at “a dead end,” amid the latter’s failure to address the dire humanitarian situation in the war-ravaged country.
Hundreds of thousands of people have died since 2015, when the coalition invaded the country to restore power to Riyadh-friendly officials. The temporary United Nations-mediated ceasefire took effect in April and has been renewed twice ever since. It is set to expire on Sunday, despite recent attempt by the UN envoy for Yemen to extend it.
Speaking through a statement on Saturday, Ansarullah movement said, “Over the past six months, we haven’t seen any serious willingness to address humanitarian issues as a top priority.”
The movement also accused the Saudi-led coalition of stalling in negotiations on measures that would “alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people.”
Simultaneously with taking the country under indiscriminate attacks, the Saudi-led forces have been enforcing an all-out siege on the Arab world’s most impoverished nation.
As a result of the combination of the warfare and the blockade, about 23.4 million of Yemen’s 30-million-strong population currently rely on humanitarian aid.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called on both sides to the conflict to take necessary measures and extend the ceasefire.
“I strongly urge the Yemeni parties not only to renew but also to expand the truce’s terms and duration,” his spokesman said in a statement on Friday.
Diego Zorrilla, the UN deputy humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, said the truce had improved the situation “in many respects,” but “life remains difficult” for the vast majority.