UN Security Council welcomes Yemen truce renewal
SMA NEWS – NEW YORK
The UN Security Council on Thursday welcomed the Aug. 2 renewal of the truce in Yemen for two additional months, and called on parties in the country to intensify negotiations toward expanding it into a durable ceasefire.
The UNSC also urged the Houthis to be more flexible and open roads in and around Taiz governorate, which has been under siege for over seven years.
Council members commended “regional partners” for backing the truce, and asked for their continued support.
They also praised Yemen’s internationally recognized government for facilitating the flow of fuel into Hodeidah port, and flights to and from Sanaa airport.
But they condemned all attacks that threatened to derail the truce, including the July 24 attack on a residential neighborhood in Taiz, that injured a dozen children, all under the age of 10.
In a statement, the UNSC also expressed concern over civilian deaths caused by landmines, and urged the authorities to “prioritize the needs of the Yemeni population and to compromise and choose peace over violence,” in line with international law and the principle of the protection of civilians.
Opening roads in Taiz remains “a humanitarian imperative to ease the suffering in Yemen’s third largest city,” and the truce represents the “most significant opportunity for peace and the protection of civilians that Yemen has witnessed in years,” the statement said.
