Optimism prevails as Hodeida truce holds
UAE minister says road ahead remains bumpy but the breakthrough makes peace possible
Dubai: A truce reached by Yemen’s warring parties on Thursday over the Red Sea port city of Hodeida was holding on Friday and a general mood of optimism is emerging for the involved players.
It was a breakthrough for UN-led efforts to end the war that has pushed killed tens of thousands of people and caused the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Akram Ateeq, 31, used to support his mother, wife and child by selling fish near Hodeida harbour but has been unable to work for six months due to battles on the outskirts of the city.
“We are happy there will be a halt to the war. We have no jobs and are living on aid. We need help,” he told Reuters.
Herve Verhoosel, senior spokesman for the World Food Programme, told a UN briefing in Geneva that the truce should enable a sustained flow of food, fuel and aid and prevent further price spikes.
In the long term we seek a Yemen at peace with itself and its neighbours, where the state is not controlled by externally-backed militias.
He said it would renew access to Red Sea Mills, which stores 51,000 tonnes of WFP wheat stock but has been cut off since September due to fighting.
International monitors are to be deployed and armed forces would pull back completely within 21 days.
The warring parties are due to discuss a political framework for peace negotiations at a second round of talks in January.
“The road ahead remains bumpy but the significant breakthrough will make peace possible,” UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash tweeted on Friday.
“In the long term we seek a Yemen at peace with itself and its neighbours, where the state is not controlled by externally-backed militias,” Gargash said.
He attributed the diplomatic progress to the sustained military pressure by the Saudi-led Arab coalition, which the UAE is part of.
The war is seen as a broader proxy conflict between Iran, which backs Al Houthis, and Saudi Arabia, which backs the legitimate Yemeni government.