The UN special envoy for Yemen has announced the plan for a ceasefire starting on Wednesday night.
Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed has received assurances from all Yemeni parties for a ceasefire to begin at 23:59 Yemen time on Wednesday, for an initial period of 72 hours, subject to renewal, a UN statement released on Monday said.
“The Special Envoy welcomes the restoration of the Cessation of Hostilities, which will spare the Yemeni people further bloodshed and will allow for the expanded delivery of humanitarian assistance,” the statement said.
The country’s exiled foreign minister has said in an official tweet that the fugitive president, Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who is backed by Saudi Arabia, has agreed to the 72-hour ceasefire.
“The president agreed to a 72 hrs ceasefire to be extended if the other party adheres to it, activates the DCC and lifts the siege of Taiz,” Abdel-Malek al-Mekhlafi said. The DCC is the military commission responsible for overseeing ceasefires.
Ansarullah revolutionaries, along with their allies General People’s Congress (GPC), have repeatedly said that they are committed to any UN-brokered ceasefire, but insist that any ceasefire should be respected by the Saudi-led coalition waging a war on Yemen since March 2015.
Monday’s announcements came hours after Britain and the US called for an immediate ceasefire as they tried to seize on outrage caused by the horrible massacre committed by Saudi which killed 140 people and injured hundreds others.
Source: Agencies
