Sporadic fighting strains fragile Yemen truce
Scattered clashes between Houthis rebels and pro-government forces undermined a fragile ceasefire in Yemen Thursday as global pressure intensified for a lasting truce in a country where millions are left in deteriorated humanitarian conditions.
The ceasefire, for an initial period of three days, took effect shortly before midnight on Wednesday under a United Nations plan which aims to allow sorely needed aid to reach suffering civilians.
Coalition spokesman Major General Ahmed Assiri told Al-Ekhbariya state television that there had been "a certain number of violations" of the ceasefire. If they continue, he said, the coalition "will take appropriate measures." Yemeni residents said they have had enough of failed truces.
Shortly after the truce began, the coalition said it "will abide by the ceasefire", which aims for "distribution of the greatest possible humanitarian and medical assistance" to Yemen's people, in Yemen's second largest city, Taiz that has been under siege from Houthi rebels with aid rarely allowed to enter for 18 months. It said it will continue an air and maritime embargo, to prevent weapons shipments to the rebels, and will maintain airborne reconnaissance. 200,000 people have suffered under Houthis siege, as the city become one of the major front lines in Yemen war.
The rebels' military spokesman, General Sharaf Lokman, said his forces will respect the ceasefire as long as the internationally recognized government also abides by it. However, he urged his fighters to be ready to retaliate against "all aggression."
A spokesman for pro-government forces also declared "respect for the truce" but reserved the right to respond to violations.
Pro-Hadi forces said in a statement they recorded nine violations by the rebel Houthis and their allies after midnight in Nahm, northeast of Sanaa.
Three pro-government fighters were killed near the Red Sea in Hajja province when rebels, after midnight, began a counter-offensive to retake positions lost before the truce, a loyalist officer, Colonel Abdel Ghani al-Chebli, told AFP. "The rebels didn't respect earlier truces and we have orders to retaliate. We are in a defensive position," he said.
However, Yemeni people have paid the highest price in the war. More than 4,000 civilians have been killed and 3 million of the country's 26 million people have been driven from their homes by the fighting. Hunger has become widespread in the Arab world's poorest country.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini late Wednesday said the truce should be a first step towards resuming UN-led peace talks. "The ceasefire must be respected by all sides and its duration extended so as to create the necessary conditions for such negotiations," she said. Mogherini added the ceasefire will allow urgent humanitarian assistance to reach large parts of the population that have suffered drastic shortages.
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State John Kerry said the truce "requires all parties to implement a full and comprehensive halt to military activities of any kind, and help facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance."
The last ceasefire attempt began in April and later collapsed alongside UN-brokered peace talks in Kuwait.
Tension has escalated in the war-torn country after the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen has come under heavy criticism since an airstrike this month on a funeral gathering in the Yemeni capital Sanaa that killed 140 people, according to a United Nations' estimate, 82 according to the Houthis. In another major development, the US Navy for the first time targeted Houthis directly. On Oct. 13, it hit radar sites which, the US said, were involved in missile launches against a US warship and other vessels.
The war in Yemen began in 2014 when Shiite rebels, known as Iran-backed Houthis based in the north, seized the capital Sanaa. In March 2015, Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies launched a campaign of airstrikes against the rebels. The Saudi-led coalition and the U.S. are backing the internationally recognized government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
The ceasefire, for an initial period of three days, took effect shortly before midnight on Wednesday under a United Nations plan which aims to allow sorely needed aid to reach suffering civilians.
Coalition spokesman Major General Ahmed Assiri told Al-Ekhbariya state television that there had been "a certain number of violations" of the ceasefire. If they continue, he said, the coalition "will take appropriate measures." Yemeni residents said they have had enough of failed truces.
Shortly after the truce began, the coalition said it "will abide by the ceasefire", which aims for "distribution of the greatest possible humanitarian and medical assistance" to Yemen's people, in Yemen's second largest city, Taiz that has been under siege from Houthi rebels with aid rarely allowed to enter for 18 months. It said it will continue an air and maritime embargo, to prevent weapons shipments to the rebels, and will maintain airborne reconnaissance. 200,000 people have suffered under Houthis siege, as the city become one of the major front lines in Yemen war.
The rebels' military spokesman, General Sharaf Lokman, said his forces will respect the ceasefire as long as the internationally recognized government also abides by it. However, he urged his fighters to be ready to retaliate against "all aggression."
A spokesman for pro-government forces also declared "respect for the truce" but reserved the right to respond to violations.
Pro-Hadi forces said in a statement they recorded nine violations by the rebel Houthis and their allies after midnight in Nahm, northeast of Sanaa.
Three pro-government fighters were killed near the Red Sea in Hajja province when rebels, after midnight, began a counter-offensive to retake positions lost before the truce, a loyalist officer, Colonel Abdel Ghani al-Chebli, told AFP. "The rebels didn't respect earlier truces and we have orders to retaliate. We are in a defensive position," he said.
However, Yemeni people have paid the highest price in the war. More than 4,000 civilians have been killed and 3 million of the country's 26 million people have been driven from their homes by the fighting. Hunger has become widespread in the Arab world's poorest country.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini late Wednesday said the truce should be a first step towards resuming UN-led peace talks. "The ceasefire must be respected by all sides and its duration extended so as to create the necessary conditions for such negotiations," she said. Mogherini added the ceasefire will allow urgent humanitarian assistance to reach large parts of the population that have suffered drastic shortages.
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State John Kerry said the truce "requires all parties to implement a full and comprehensive halt to military activities of any kind, and help facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance."
The last ceasefire attempt began in April and later collapsed alongside UN-brokered peace talks in Kuwait.
Tension has escalated in the war-torn country after the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen has come under heavy criticism since an airstrike this month on a funeral gathering in the Yemeni capital Sanaa that killed 140 people, according to a United Nations' estimate, 82 according to the Houthis. In another major development, the US Navy for the first time targeted Houthis directly. On Oct. 13, it hit radar sites which, the US said, were involved in missile launches against a US warship and other vessels.
The war in Yemen began in 2014 when Shiite rebels, known as Iran-backed Houthis based in the north, seized the capital Sanaa. In March 2015, Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies launched a campaign of airstrikes against the rebels. The Saudi-led coalition and the U.S. are backing the internationally recognized government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.