Yemen’s Houthis, GPC agree in principle to 72-hour ceasefire

Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement and the General People’s Congress (GPC) party of the former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, the group’s main ally, have agreed in principle to a 72-hour ceasefire proposed by the UN’s special envoy to Yemen, local sources said Friday.

According to sources close to Houthi negotiators, who spoke anonymously due to restrictions on speaking to media, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed proposed the ceasefire at a meeting held this week in Omani capital Muscat.

An earlier ceasefire applied in April collapsed after Kuwait-hosted peace talks fell through in August.

Experts said Saudi Arabia’s unreasonable approach caused the UN-backed peace talks on the Yemen war to fail.

Delegations representing the Houthis and Saleh, however, conditioned the new ceasefire on a halt to all military activities in Yemen by a Saudi-led coalition.

Delegates from the Houthis and GPC said in a statement on Saba news agency that Saudi-backed resigned president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, must go and an agreement must be reached on the presidency.

“Any talks or negotiations by Yemeni delegates must be on the condition that the United Nations offers a written and comprehensive peace plan,” they said in a statement on Tuesday, adding, “If the proposal does not include an agreement on the new presidential institution, then it [the UN peace plan] becomes merely a partial and incomplete vision, which cannot be a foundation for discussion.”

On August 13, Yemen’s parliament held its first session in the country’s capital, Sana’a, since the outbreak of conflict there 17 months ago. The parliamentarians unanimously voted in favor of the newly set up Supreme Political Council to rule the Arab country, stripping Hadi of his power and legitimacy.

On August 25, US Secretary of State John Kerry said that he had agreed with the United Nations and Persian Gulf Arab monarchies on a plan to restart peace talks with a goal of forming a unity government.

Yemen has been under Saudi military strikes since late March 2015. Houthi Ansarullah fighters, allied Yemeni army factions, and forces loyal to Saleh have united and are fighting back the Saudi invaders.

The United Nations puts the death toll from the military aggression at about 10,000.

On August 13, Yemen’s parliament held its first session in the country’s capital, Sana’a, since the outbreak of conflict there 17 months ago. The parliamentarians unanimously voted in favor of the newly set up Supreme Political Council to rule the Arab country, stripping Hadi of his power and legitimacy.

On August 25, US Secretary of State John Kerry said that he had agreed with the United Nations and Persian Gulf Arab monarchies on a plan to restart peace talks with a goal of forming a unity government.

Yemen has been under Saudi military strikes since late March 2015. Houthi Ansarullah fighters, allied Yemeni army factions, and forces loyal to Saleh have united and are fighting back the Saudi invaders.

The United Nations puts the death toll from the military aggression at about 10,000.