Suffering of Displaced Yemenis Continues Despite Ceasefire

Date: 21 January 2019 - 21:08

News ID: ۶۲۳۲۷

ADEN (Dispatches) – Yemen's warring sides had reached a cease-fire agreement under the auspices of the United Nations last month, but it failed to reduce the suffering of internally displaced people in the Red Sea port city of Hudaydah.
Many displaced residents confirmed that the UN-brokered cease-fire deal didn't succeed in reopening the blocked roads and failed to bring families back to their residential areas.
"This cease-fire brought nothing and we are still unable to go back to our houses," said Omar Ali, 30, who was forced to flee his house following ferocious fighting.
"Random mortar shells are still targeting our displacement camps and many people were either killed or injured during the cease-fire period," Omar said.
He added that "no change happened during this truce and the situation is worsening everyday with main roads are still blocked across Hudaydah."
Many other displaced families living in their tents are still waiting for the cease-fire outcomes, hoping that their suffering will be reduced by the UN peace efforts.
Um Salah Nabil, a displaced woman, said that she didn't lost hope.
"Only the withdrawal of the warring factions from our residential areas will grant us a great opportunity to come back to our daily peaceful life," she said.
Nabil added that "we are still waiting because the withdrawal of the warring factions needs more time and we hope that de-escalation can continue in Hudaydah."
Mohammed Zaher, along with other displaced people in Hudaydah, urged the UN and the international community to completely end their suffering by pressuring the two warring sides to stop fighting permanently.
"Temporary halt of fighting is not a solution for thousands of people who are experiencing endless difficulties in displacement camps," he said.
He added that "the real solution lies in hands of the UN and other powerful regional countries including those involved in Yemen's military conflict."
The fragile cease-fire was breached several times despite presence of the UN cease-fire monitoring team composed of representatives from the two warring factions.
Leading a coalition of its allies, including the United Arab Emirates and Sudan, Saudi Arabia invaded Yemen in March 2015 in an attempt to reinstall former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who had resigned amid popular discontent and fled to Riyadh.
The imposed war initially consisted of an airstrike campaign but was later coupled with a naval blockade and the deployment of ground mercenaries to Yemen.
Since the onset of the aggression, the Yemeni army, backed by fighters from Ansarullah movement, has been defending the impoverished nation against the invaders. The coalition is also resolute to crush the movement as another goal in its war on Yemen, which is teetering on the edge of famine.