A six months United Nations-mediated truce in Yemen’s civil war has ended with neither side agreeing to lengthen it, as U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres vowed negotiations will move forward.
The United States encouraged the Houthis to continue “negotiations in good faith and to work with the U.N. to agree to extend the truce and keep Yemen on the path to peace.
In a statement on Monday, the State Department said:
“The United States expresses its deep concern that the U.N.-mediated truce in Yemen expired on Oct. 2. We urge all the parties to exercise restraint during this sensitive time.”
The Yemen civil war, which began in 2014 when Houthi rebels stormed the capital Sanaa, has turned the country into what the U.N. has described as “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.”
The first U.N.-mediated ceasefire went into effect in April to “provide tangible relief to civilians,” and authorized a weekly commercial international flight to resume between the Houthi-controlled Sanaa and each of Amman, Jordan and Cairo, Egypt.
Just before the deadline expired, Guterres said:
“I strongly urge the Yemeni parties to not only renew but also to expand the truce’s terms and duration, in line with the proposal presented to them by my Special Envoy, Hans Grundberg.”
Despite Sunday’s expiration, the State Department said it will continue to push for the expanded truce proposal that would provide salaries to civil servants, open roads, expand International flights and ease clearance for fuel ships entering Hudaydah port.
