Yemen’s warring sides agree to renew existing truce: UN

The United Nations says both sides also agree to try to arrive at ‘an expanded truce agreement as soon as possible’.

The United Nations says Yemen’s warring parties have agreed to renew an existing truce for another two months, the UN envoy has said, despite international pressure for an extended and expanded deal.

Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said in a statement on Tuesday that Yemen’s internationally recognised government and the country’s Houthi rebels agreed to extend the truce.

“This truce extension includes a commitment from the parties to intensify negotiations to reach an expanded truce agreement as soon as possible,” Grundberg said in a statement.

The envoy had been pushing for a six-month truce with additional measures, according to the Reuters news agency, but both sides have had grievances about the implementation of the existing truce deal, and mistrust runs deep.

United States and Omani officials had also been engaging with parties to back Grundberg’s proposal following a visit by US President Joe Biden to Saudi Arabia last month, where he announced, following bilateral talks, an agreement to “deepen and extend” the truce.

The renewal announcement came hours after an Omani delegation concluded three-day talks with the Houthi leadership, including with the rebels’ chief Abdul-Malek al-Houthi in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa.

Agencies