The United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, announced the establishment of a mechanism to confront any breaches of the armistice between the parties to the Yemeni conflict, describing the current truce as a "precious moment fraught with dangers."
Today, Wednesday, Grundberg said - in a video conference held 5 days after the announcement of the truce, which is supposed to last two months - that the responsibility for maintaining the truce lies directly with the two parties themselves.
He added that "a coordination mechanism is being established to help confront any violations," stressing that "the armistice is an important opportunity, and the ceasefire rarely holds if it is not supported by progress on the political track."
The UN envoy pointed out that the truce - which entered into force last Saturday, the first day of Ramadan - "is the first in Yemen over the past six years. It is a precious moment fraught with dangers."
Grundberg confirmed that there has been a significant decrease in violence since the start of the truce, but that there are reports of "hostile activities," particularly around the Ma'rib governorate, he said.
The UN envoy said that the consultations will continue until the end of next May to complete the dialogue and reach a political settlement that ends the conflict.
Grundberg had announced the agreement of the parties to the conflict to stop the offensive air, land and sea operations inside and across the borders of Yemen for a period of two months, subject to extension. Houthi areas since the start of the war.
Yemen has been witnessing for more than 7 years a continuous war between pro-government forces backed by a Saudi-led military coalition, and the Iran-backed Houthi group, which has controlled several governorates, including the capital, Sanaa, since September 2014.
Until the end of 2021, the war killed 377,000 people, and cost Yemen's economy $126 billion in losses, according to United Nations data, and most of the country's population - about 30 million people - has become dependent on aid, in the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.
On March 16, the United Nations announced receiving financial pledges from 36 donors worth $1.3 billion for its humanitarian plan in Yemen for 2022, but it was seeking $4.27 billion, to reach 17.3 million people in Yemen.