RIYADH: Fighting in Yemen’s key battlefields has largely come to a halt as rival factions cling to a UN-brokered humanitarian conflict, local military officials told Arab News on Saturday.
Yemen’s envoy to the United Nations, Hans Grundberg, announced on Friday that the Iran-backed Houthis and the internationally recognized government agreed on a two-month ceasefire on Saturday, the first day of Ramadan.
The parties agreed to stop land, air and cross-border attacks, allow oil tankers to enter Hodeidah port, allow flights to land and take off at Sanaa Airport, and lift the Siege of Taiz .
Local officials said fighting and shelling between government troops and the Houthis had largely subsided outside Marib’s central province and the city of Taiz, amid reports that Houthis were still gathering forces in Marib.
“The fighting in Marib has stopped. There is a limited exchange of mortar and heavy gun fire and enemy forces are deploying,” a military official told Arab News on condition of anonymity, adding that army soldiers and allied tribal Houthi violations were fighting for.
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Thousands have been killed in Marib province since early last year, when the Houthis launched a major offensive to take control of the energy-packed city of Marib.
Thousands of fighters and civilians have been killed in Marib province since early last year, when the Houthis launched a major offensive in the northern part of the country to take control of the Yemeni government’s last stronghold, the energy-rich city of Marib.
Despite offensive missiles, drones and ground attacks on the city, the Houthis failed to take control of the city and suffered thousands of casualties.
Yemeni experts agree that the Houthis, who have long rejected many similar calls for a ceasefire, have to accept the latest UN-brokered ceasefire after failing to invade Marib. has been forced to. Forced to.
In the city of Taiz, key battlefields were calm on Saturday as Houthis and army troops halted hostilities for the first time in years, but residents called on Iran-backed militias to immediately lift their control of the city.
Colonel Abdul Basit al-Baher, a military official, told Arab News by telephone that government forces stood firm on the ceasefire as the Houthis stopped shelling and attacks on the densely populated city. “Here in Taiz there is relatively calmness on all fronts,” said al-Baher.
The Houthis have besieged Yemen’s third largest city, Taiz, for more than seven years after it failed to regain control of the city.
They deployed forces on the outskirts of the city, prevented people from entering or crossing the city, and shot those who had moved close to their positions.
Al-Baher said the siege should be lifted with a ceasefire, as it has crippled the city and pushed thousands to the brink of famine. “The ceasefire (is) is meaningless if the siege of Taiz is not lifted. Siege is a form of war,” he said.
“The Houthis blocked the roads of Taiz with large rocks and sandbags and planted a large number of landmines.” They said they were targeting all living things, including cats and dogs.