LONDON: The UN Special Envoy for Yemen encouraged parties in the country to engage “urgently and constructively with UN efforts to reach an agreement on road openings in Taiz and other governorates” on Monday.
Addressing the UN Security Council, Hans Grundberg said that an agreement on the sticky issue would allow all Yemenis “to feel the tangible benefits of the truce in their everyday lives.”
A two-month UN-brokered truce between the Yemeni government and the Houthis came into effect in April to coincide with Ramadan. It was later extended in June for a further two months.
Grundberg said that his office had shared an updated proposal on the phased opening of roads with the Houthis but they had rejected the proposal.
“Following discussions with the parties, my office shared an updated proposal on the phased opening of roads. The Houthis have communicated to my office that they do not accept the proposal,” he said.
The UN envoy said that an agreement from both sides is important “because road openings require coordination and ongoing communication to ensure that roads are opened safely and sustainably for civilian passage.”
He added that the truce has been holding for over three months and has resulted in a significant reduction in civilian casualties.
“It has resulted in a significant reduction in civilian casualties, with the number of civilian casualties reduced by two thirds compared to the three months before the truce began,” Grundberg said.
He said that he continues to receive reports from both sides about alleged incidents inside Yemen, and stressed that his office is supporting the parties in establishing channels of communication to help them manage such alleged incidents in a peaceful manner.
He added that since June 2, seven ships carrying nearly 200,000 metric tons of fuel products had been cleared to enter Hodeidah port.
Considering high fuel prices, he stressed that the situation would be far worse without the imports facilitated by the truce.
Grundberg said that since the start of the truce, almost 7,000 passengers had traveled between Sana’a and Jordan and that work continues with the Egyptian authorities to facilitate flights to and from Cairo.
