Ceasefire from April 10, ahead of peace talks

Announced by the UN special envoy, who speaks of "last chance" for a war that "has to stop." The talks between the parties to the conflict will be held in Kuwait from April 18. According to UN sources the war has killed more than 6,200 people, many of them civilians. The nation faces a "humanitarian catastrophe."

 

Sanaa (AsiaNews / Agencies) - April 10 marks the beginning of a ceasefire all over Yemen, followed a week later the start of peace talks, according to a statement released yesterday by the UN special envoy for the Arab country, raising hopes of a breakthrough in a war that devastated an entire nation.

The violence in Yemen began in September 2014, as the Houthi militias supported by Iran attacked the capital Sanaa and forced the government recognized by the international community to migrate to the south, in Aden.

Last January, the clashes turned into a bloody internal conflict pitting the Sunni leadership, backed by Saudi Arabia (recently accused of crimes against humanity in Yemen), and the Shiite Houthi rebels.

In March, the Saudis formed a coalition and  launched air strikes against the rebels in an attempt to free the capital Sanaa and return the country to the president (who first fled in exile and then returned) Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi.

For Saudi Arabia, the Houthis, allied to the forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, are supported militarily by Iran; a charge that Tehran rejects.

Extremist groups linked to al Qaeda and jihadist militias close to the Islamic State are also active in the country, which helped to increase the spiral of violence and terror. Among the many, the assault on the compound of the missionaries of Charity in Aden, with the massacre of four religious - along with 12 civilians - and the kidnapping of a priest.

According to sources of the World Health Organization (WHO) more than 6,200 people have been killed in the war; for the United Nations there is a strong risk of "humanitarian catastrophe".

Based in New York the UN special envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said that "the parties to the conflict agreed to a national cease-fire from midnight of April 10", a week in advance of the "upcoming peace talks, to be held April 18 in Kuwait”.

In the past there have been other unsuccessful attempts to stop the war; for the UN diplomat "this is really our last chance," because "the war in Yemen has to end."

The previous peace talks, also under the auspices of the United Nations, between rebels and government officials had no positive outcome and have failed to stem a humanitarian crisis in the poorest Arab state. However, it seems that the divisions of the past have been overcome and it is now possible to engage in diplomatic negotiations to stop the violence.

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