Risk of war in Yemen is real, says UN envoy

CAIRO: The UN envoy for Yemen warned that the risk of a return to fighting “is real,” urging warring parties to accept a longer extension of the current ceasefire due to expire next month.

Hans Grundberg’s stark warning late Tuesday came ater he met in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, with Rashad Al Alimi, head of the internationally recognised presidential council, and in Oman’s capital of Muscat with Mohammed Abdul-salam, the chief negotiator of the Houthi rebels.

He also met Saudi and Omani officials to push for a cease-fire extension.

Grundberg said in a statement he discussed a UN proposal to renew the truce for a longer time “to give Yemenis the opportunity to make progress on a wider basket of priorities.”

“We are at a crossroads where the risk of a return to war is real and I am urging the parties to choose an alternative that prioritises the needs of the Yemeni people,” he said.

The efforts to renew the cease-fire have come as the two sides held military parades in territories under their control.

Nabil Jamel, a government negotiator, said the UN proposal includes ways to pay civilian servants in Houthi-held territories and reopen roads of blockaded cities, including Taez. He did not elaborate. Reopening the roads of Taez and other provinces are part of the Un-brokered truce, which took effect in early April and was extended twice, the second time until Oct.2. Both sides reported violations of the cease-fire. The truce established a partial reopening of Sanaa airport to commercial flights, and allowed fuel vessels to the port of Hodeidah.

The truce has been the longest lull of fighting in Yemen’s war, now in its eighth year.

Though both sides reported violations, the cease-fire has brought relief for Yemenis who have suffered from a decade of political turmoil and conflict.

Aside from direct fighting, landmines and other explosive remnants continued to kill civilians in Hodeidah.

Earlier this week, the UN said at least 15 people, including children, were killed or wounded past week in the contested city, bringing the tally to over 100 dead, and 141 wounded since November.

Yemen’s brutal civil war began in 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of northern Yemen and forced the government into exile.

A Saudi-led coalition entered the war in early 2015 to try restore the internationally recognised government to power.