Al-Muqalla: Several artillery shells fired by the Houthis fell on Yemen’s Taiz city on Tuesday, as international mediators, envoys and aid organizations ramped up their efforts to persuade both sides to renew the UN-brokered ceasefire. accelerated.
Residents and officials in Taiz said multiple explosions caused by Houthi artillery shook the eastern parts of the city. According to Yemeni officials, the attack is the latest in a series of UN-mediated ceasefire violations.
Abdul Basit al-Baher, a Yemeni military officer in Tayz, told Arab News that a Houthi sniper targeted a civilian in the same eastern area of the city as militia tanks and other heavy artillery targeted residential areas.
“The Houthi heavy shelling and sniper attacks have not stopped during the ceasefire,” he said, adding that militias recently deployed more snipers and built new military posts. “People did not go to mosques for fear of being hit by Houthi snipers during last Friday prayers.”
The Houthis have controlled the outskirts of Taiz for seven years and launched a suffocating siege that pushed thousands into famine.
Discussions between the Yemeni government in Amman and the Houthis about opening roads in Taiz as part of the ceasefire have so far failed to yield any results. A member of the Yemeni government delegation told Arab News that on Wednesday the two sides would hold a new round of talks.
Al-Baher said that the people in Taiz are not supporting the renewal of the ceasefire because it has failed to lift the siege.
“We did not get any benefit from the ceasefire. Houthi shelling, mobilization of forces and military operations have not stopped during the ceasefire,” he said.
During the past seven days, people in Taiz have intensified their protests and campaigns to draw attention to the effects of the siege and pressure Yemeni negotiators in Amman to end it.
The two-month ceasefire, which entered into force on 2 April, led to a significant reduction in fighting and fatalities, the resumption of commercial flights from Sanaa, and at least 12 ships carrying fuel were able to enter Hodeidah. .
The latest Houthi mortar attack on Taiz came as the UN envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, Western diplomats and aid organizations increased pressure on the Yemeni government and the Houthis to renew the ceasefire.
On Tuesday, dozens of international organizations wrote a joint letter to the two sides, urging them to extend the ceasefire into June to avoid more civilian casualties.
“We, the undersigned agencies, urge you to extend the ceasefire agreement, advance the gains made by you over the past two months, and work towards peace for the people of Yemen,” he said in the letter.
It said the ceasefire has had a positive humanitarian impact, including a 50 percent reduction in casualties. It has also addressed fuel shortage and allowed patients to travel outside the country to seek medical help.
“The gift of a better life for the people of Yemen is in your hands. Do not let June become a month where fighting resumes, public services fail and more innocent lives are lost,” the letter said.
A group of European ambassadors to Yemen arrived in the port city of Aden and met with government officials to express their support for the presidential leadership council and end the siege of Taiz, Yemen’s foreign minister Ahmed Awadh bin Mubarak said.
Meanwhile, in Muscat, Grundberg discussed the possibility of working with Mohamed Abdul Salam, the chief negotiator for the Houthis, and Omani officials to open roads in Taiz, renew the ceasefire, and achieve a peace deal to end the war. discussed, according to the UN envoy’s office.
He discussed similar topics with Rashad al-Alimi, the head of the Presidential Leadership Council and his government in Aden on Monday. Grundberg said that renewing the ceasefire is “important to consolidate the gains made so far and to provide space to move toward a political settlement.”
Permanent US Representative to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said her country was encouraged by efforts to push the ceasefire and “come up with confidence-building measures that would allow humanitarian aid to reach the people of Yemen.” “
But now the talks seem “troublesome for us”, she told reporters in New York. However, he added that “the talks are not over yet and we encourage both sides to continue those efforts and find a peaceful way to provide necessary humanitarian assistance to the people of Yemen.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on al-Alimi to discuss the implementation of the ceasefire as well as the latest security developments in the war-torn country. During the talks, the UN chief stressed the need to “fully implement all elements of a renewable, two-month nationwide ceasefire”.
They also underscored the critical role of the ceasefire in addressing some of the most urgent human and economic needs to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people, including facilitating the freedom of movement of people and goods to and from Yemen. . Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the Secretary-General.
, Additional reporting by Ephraim Kossaffy in New York