UN Yemen envoy in Aden to safeguard ceasefire and resume peace talks

Hans Grundberg, the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen, arrived in Yemen’s southern port city of Aden on Tuesday for a two-day mission aimed at salvaging a weak truce between warring groups and pushing for the opening of highways in Taiz and the resumption of flights from Houthi-held Sanaa.

Grundberg’s visit to Aden came as the internationally recognized Yemeni government and the Iran-backed Houthis swapped accusations over violations of the UN-brokered truce and delays in restoring commercial flights from Sanaa airport.

The UN envoy will meet with Rashad Al-Alimi, head of the Presidential Leadership Council, and other government officials to discuss maintaining the truce and peace initiatives, according to the official news agency SABA.

The Yemeni government blamed the Houthis for hundreds of ceasefire violations since April 2 and impeded the first commercial flight from Sanaa airport on April 24.

The Houthis further accused their opponents of targeting their soldiers and preventing fuel supplies to the Hodeidah seaport and flights from Sanaa airport from resuming.

During a meeting with the UN envoy in Riyadh on Monday, Yemen’s vice president, Abdullah Al-Alimi, said the Houthis’ refusal to lift their siege of Taiz, as well as their continued attacks on government-controlled areas, threaten to derail the truce and UN efforts to reach a peace deal to end the war.

“The Yemeni government is keenly committed to what was agreed upon…and it deals positively, flexibly and responsibly with any proposal that would alleviate human suffering,” the Yemeni official said, according to SABA.

Before touching down in Aden, the UN Yemen envoy discussed strengthening the truce and peace efforts with Mohammed bin Saeed Al-Jaber, Saudi ambassador to Yemen, and Dr. Nayef Al-Hajraf, secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

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