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MORE than 40 humanitarian groups called today for an extension to the ceasefire in war-torn Yemen, calling it a “critical moment” for the country.
Ahead of the truce’s scheduled expiration on Sunday, 44 aid agencies issued a joint statement to “remind all parties to the conflict that the future of the people of Yemen is in their hands.”
The war between Iranian-backed Houthi rebels and a Saudi-led and US-funded coalition has left hundreds of thousands of people dead and created what the United Nations says is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
The UN estimated earlier this year that 19 million Yemenis face severe food shortages.
Reduced supplies of wheat from Ukraine have pushed hunger rates even higher in one of the Arab world’s poorest countries.
About 23.4 million of Yemen’s 30 million people rely on humanitarian aid, said the groups, which include Oxfam, Save the Children and the Norwegian Refugee Council.
“Now is a critical moment for the people of Yemen,” they added.
“More time is needed to ensure that Yemenis can start to rebuild and recover their lives.”
The UN-brokered ceasefire, which took effect in April and has twice been renewed, has reduced casualties by 60 per cent and quadrupled fuel imports into the rebel-held port of Hodeida, the aid agencies said.
“If the conflict restarts now, it not only risks destroying gains already made but threatens the future development of Yemen,” they insisted.
UN envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg warned that there was a “real risk” of fighting returning to Yemen and urged the warring parties to accept a longer extension of the ceasefire.
“We are at a crossroads where the risk of a return to war is real and I am urging the parties to choose an alternative that prioritises the needs of the Yemeni people,” he said.
The truce has been the longest suspension of fighting in Yemen’s war, now in its eighth year.
It has brought relief to Yemenis who have suffered from a decade of political turmoil and conflict.
Since it began in 2014, the war has killed more than 150,000 people, including over 14,500 civilians.
US President Joe Biden admitted last December that a “small number” of US troops are deployed in Yemen to back the Saudi-led coalition’s forces.
