AL-MUKALLA: The internationally recognized President of Yemen, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, ordered his troops to adhere to a truce announced by the Saudi-led coalition and UN so efforts can be stepped up to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the country, Yemen’s official news agency said on Thursday.
Yemen’s Vice President Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmer told the UN Yemen envoy Martin Griffiths at a virtual meeting that Hadi instructed Yemeni army and allied forces to halt fighting in response to the UN calls for a truce to fight the spread of the virus.
Al-Ahmer said that the Yemeni government is still committed to resuming peace talks with the Houthis and striking a deal that could end the fighting in the country.
The official news agency said Griffiths thanked the Yemeni president for positively responding to the UN call for a truce and voiced his hope that the cease-fire will smooth the way for a comprehensive solution to the conflict.
The Yemeni government’s move to halt hostilities came a day after government forces and allied tribesmen made a series of territorial gains in the northern province of Jouf and the central provinces of Al-Bayda and Marib.
Yemen’s army announced on Wednesday that it taken control of a military base in Jouf, and liberated a chain of mountains in Al-Bayda and Marib after killing or capturing dozens of Houthi fighters.
In the southern city of Aden, the headquarters of the internationally recognized government, officials believe that army’s victories prompted the Houthis to declare their comprehensive proposal on Wednesday night.
After major battlefield victories, the army is now on the outskirts of Hazem, in Jouf, and is expected to seize a road between Al-Bayda and Sanaa after opening a new front in Mukairas, in Abyan, a senior government official in Aden told Arab news.
“The Houthis realized that if those gains were sustained, the army would liberate many areas,” the official said.
Government forces will adhere to presidential orders, but will respond to any Houthi provocations, he added.
“This is a probationary period. Either Houthis adhere to the truce and things move toward a comprehensive peaceful solution, or they do not and we are ready to activate the fronts,” the official said.
Despite voicing their skepticism over Houthi commitments to the cease-fire, Yemeni army commanders welcomed the Saudi-led coalition’s declaration of the truce, demanding the Houthis reciprocate by ending hostilities and stopping artillery attacks on cities under government’s control.
“From our experience with the Houthis, I can say that they will not stop fighting. We are committed to the coalition’s calls for the truce,” Rafeq Doumah, an officer with the pro-government Tehama Brigades in Hodeida, told Arab News by telephone.
The conflict in Yemen began in late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthis seized control of Sanaa and expanded their operations across the country.
Yemen’s warring factions have come under local and international pressure to stop fighting so health workers can help deal with the coronavirus crisis.
