Truce in Yemen ends, leaving millions at risk

After the six-month truce in Yemen expired last Sunday, the fear of a return of violence is spreading among the people in the war-torn country.

Yemen's warring parties failed to renew the UN-brokered truce deal, dashing the hopes of some Yemenis for a broader pact that would ease economic woes and prolong relative calm after more than seven years of fighting, according to the New Arab.

AP News reported that the UN’s envoy to Yemen issued a statement calling on all sides to stop acts of incitement as the talks continue, after the deadline of October 2 for extending the agreement was missed. 

It is worth mentioning that the truce took effect in April, and raised hopes for a longer pause from violence in the eight-year Yemeni civil war. The conflict started in 2014 when the Iranian-backed Houthis seized the capital of Sanaa and much of northern Yemen and forced the government into exile. A Saudi-led coalition, including the United Arab Emirates, intervened in 2015 in an attempt to help the internationally recognized government regain power, according AP News. 

United Nations special envoy Hans Grundberg said late on Sunday he would continue to push for an extended and expanded deal between the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi group, which are both under intense international pressure to come to an agreement, the New Arab reported. 

In a statement, the United States expressed deep concern over the expiration of the truce and said the expanded UN proposal would help to start negotiations on a “comprehensive ceasefire and an inclusive, Yemeni-led political process that would durably end the war,” Reuters reported. 

The parties on Sunday accused each other of hampering peace efforts. The Saudi-backed government blamed the Houthis, the de facto authority in the north, for refusing the deal. The Houthis' Supreme Political Council criticized the UN proposal as lacking and threatened attacks on “airports, ports and oil companies of aggressor countries” if the military coalition led by Saudi Arabia does not lift its sea and air restrictions. The US urged the Houthis to continue negotiations in “good faith” and work with the UN on an extended truce agreement, Reuters reported. 

Before the deadline to extend the ceasefire, a coalition of 44 NGOs issued an appeal to the warring parties, citing the reduction in civilian casualties and saying the reopening of Sana’a airport and the increased flow of fuel through the disputed Hodeidah port had enabled Yemenis to more freely access healthcare, education and business opportunities. They said that an extension to the ceasefire could also allow for the clearing of landmines, which have continued to kill and maim civilians, and for farms to be worked, according to the Guardian. 

According to the UN refugee agency, the war between the Saudi-led, pro-government coalition and the Houthi rebels has left 73% of Yemen’s population dependent on humanitarian aid and has internally displaced 4.3 million people. There have been more than 13,000 civilian casualties.