Truce in Yemen Turned into Humanitarian Setback Amid US-Saudi Threats of Military Escalation

On May 10, 2022

The UN-sponsored humanitarian truce in Yemen, after its half-term passed, faced more than 2,853 violations by the US-Saudi aggression and its mercenaries, which did not commit to implementing any of its provisions during more than a month of the UN declaration,causing a new humanitarian setback for the Yemeni people.

Continuous Violations

The sustainability of the fragile truce in Yemen, which the world cheered for, depends on the commitment of the US-Saudi aggression to implement it and stop continuing its military violations, which amounted to 2,853 violations within 31 days, according to what was announced by the Sana’a forces.

On Wednesday, the humanitarian truce in Yemen under the auspices of the United Nations witnessed the most serious violations of the US-Saudi aggression as it launched an airstrike targeting the positions of the Yemeni Army and Popular Committees on Haradh border front.

Downing US-Saudi Drone Unveils Masks

The downing of a US-Saudi spy drone exposed the ugliness of the US-Saudi aggression with its crimes and its continuous violations of the truce that it did not adhere to from the beginning.

The Yemeni Air Defenses of the Army and Popular Committees announced that it shot down a Chinese-made CH-4 spy drone, in the border district of Haradh in Hajjah Governorate.

In this context, the head of the National Delegation, Mohammad Abdulsalam, stressed that the persistence of committing such aggressive actions by the US-Saudi aggression undermines the humanitarian and military truce, which is basically threatened by not implementing its provisions.

On the 26th of last month, Abdulsalam held the US-Saudi aggression responsible for their intransigence, disavowal and evasiveness, calling on the United Nations to carry out its duty in accordance with the agreement.

Upcoming Escalation

The threats of the political and military leaders affiliated with the US-Saudi aggression to the military escalation came as a bullet in the body of a truce that Yemen witnessed only in the media news!

The deputy head of the Saudi-backed Presidential Council, Faraj Al-Bahsani, confirmed in a statement to the Saudi “Al Arabiya” channel, last Tuesday, that the US-Saudi aggression is preparing for an escalation by various means, including security and military.

The Council of Saudi-Emirati Agents’ threat of a military escalation for the first time since its formation, comes one day after the Staff of the Ministry of the “Coalition Government,” Lieutenant-General Saghir Hammoud bin Aziz, confirmed that the coalition forces are ready to fight a “defining battle” against the forces of Sana’a.

Exploiting Humanitarian Issue

The head of the Prisoners’ Affairs Committee, Abdulqader Al-Mortada, revealed a resounding scandal for the Saudi regime regarding their announced recent initiative to release Yemeni prisoners.

The National Committee for Prisoners Affairs confirmed that after the Saudi regime announced the release of 163 prisoners from the Army and Popular Committees, contact was made with the International Committee of the Red Cross to make the necessary arrangements in this regard.

“After three days of the announcement, we met with representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, after their visit to the detainees, which were 126 detainees only, and not 163 as announced by the Saudi regime” The committee said in a statement.

The statement added, “We received the names lists from them, matched them with our database of prisoners, and we found that all detainees are not prisoners of war, except for only five of them and four fishermen who were kidnapped from the Red Sea.”

The statement clarified that among the detainees are nine foreigners of African nationalities with whom we have no connection, stressing that the National Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs is concerned with following up and liberating all prisoners of the Yemeni Army and Committees.

Patients Die Waiting Sana’a Airport’s Opening

The spokesman for the Ministry of Health confirmed the recent death of 12 patients who were registered to travel for treatment abroad, stressing that two flights per week, as stipulated in the truce agreement, are not enough to save patients’ lives.

In his statement to Almasirah, Dr. Anis Al-Asbahi said that the aggression’s repudiation of the implementation of the UN-sponsored truce is a crime that has humanitarian repercussions.

He confirmed that 30,000 patients urgently need to travel abroad to receive treatment.

Earlier, the Director General of Sana’a International Airport said that the aggression’s delay in opening Sana’a International Airport to humanitarian flights had killed the feelings of thousands of patients who waited for the supposed flights under the humanitarian truce.

In a statement to Almasirah, Khaled Al-Shayef added that it was assumed that 2,800 passengers would have arrived and left, if commercial flights had been allowed to Sana’a Int. Airport. He pointed out that the expatriates were wishing of visiting their relatives on Eid after separation for years.

The director of Sana’a International Airport confirmed that the Salvation Government made many concessions in order to alleviate the humanitarian crisis, but the coalition of aggression was not serious about implementing the truce.

In early April, the UN envoy to Yemen announced a UN-sponsored humanitarian truce for a period of two months. The truce, meant to halt all military operations in the country and bring the foreign military invasion to an end, came into effect on April 2.

The deal stipulates halting offensive military operations, including cross-border attacks, and allowing fuel-laden ships to enter Yemen’s lifeline Hodeidah port and commercial flights in and out of the airport in the capital Sana’a “to predetermined destinations in the region.”

Nearly a month has passed since the truce went into effect but without significant progress. The airport is still blockaded and has not received any flights, in light of the obstacles created by the coalition of aggression. The past few weeks were supposed to witness at least two commercial flights a week to and from Sana’a International Airport.

Well-informed sources in Sana’a say that there are complications by the aggression side, in light of its insistence on taking over the issuance of passports and visas.

The matter also applies to the port of Hodeidah. While the countries of aggression were supposed to facilitate the smooth flow of ships to the port, under the truce, the inspecting ships are still subject to inspection, and are detained off the coast of Jizan despite obtaining UN permits and licenses.

On the ground, the fires of the aggression side did not subside along the fronts, on the borders and inside. Shelling, reconnaissance, development and crawl, including a failed advance carried out by mercenaries towards Army and Popular Committee sites south of Marib.

All indicators do not serve the steadfastness of the humanitarian and military truce, and provide evidence that Sana’a continues to exercise restraint, in the face of heterogeneous parties that do not abide or respect their commitments to a truce sponsored by the UN.