The Yemeni government and the Houthis exchanged accusations of violating the truce, for the first time since the start of the ceasefire, which is supposed to last for two months.

The truce, which also includes allowing commercial flights from Sanaa International Airport - which has been open only to aid flights since 2016 - represents a rare glimmer of hope in the conflict after a debilitating war that has continued for more than seven years.

The main fighting fronts seemed calm since the start of the truce, but Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak spoke today, Tuesday, about "violations".

He wrote - in a tweet on Twitter - "The truce was very welcomed, but it is threatened by Houthi violations, including military deployment, mobilization of forces and vehicles, and artillery and drone attacks," without additional details about the locations of these attacks.

There was no immediate comment from the Houthi group in this regard, but the group's media reported that "violations" of the truce were observed on Sunday and Monday, accusing the coalition - led by Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni army - of launching attacks in the north and west of the country.

The Houthis have controlled the capital, Sanaa, since 2014, in addition to other areas in the north and west of the country, while the military coalition - which provides support to government forces - controls the Yemeni airspace.


The terms of the armistice agreement, which was reached under the auspices of the United Nations, include facilitating the entry of 18 ships carrying fuel to Hodeidah (west), which is under Houthi control, and allowing two flights to and from Sanaa airport every week, for the first time since 2016.

The power struggle between the government and the Houthis - since its beginning in mid-2014 - has killed more than 377,000 people directly or due to the repercussions of the war, according to the United Nations.

Meanwhile, Yemeni politicians have been holding consultations for about a week in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, under the auspices of the Gulf Cooperation Council, on the future of peace in Yemen, in the absence of the Houthis.

In a speech he delivered during an iftar dinner attended by Yemeni government officials, Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi called - on Monday evening - for the Houthis to return to the negotiating table.

Hadi - who resides in Riyadh - explained, "I tell you, come back as a Yemeni political component that adheres to the republican national constants, unity and democracy, and come to the dialogue table to make peace for our Yemeni people."

He continued, "I was hoping that the Houthis would respond to this call from the brothers in the Gulf Cooperation Council, and put the interests of the Yemenis above all interests, and from here I invite them once again to review their accounts and look around them for the situation of our Yemeni people, who are suffering inside and outside Yemen as a result of this ongoing war."

In the same context, the Governor of Taiz (southwest of Yemen), Nabil Shamsan, discussed with the Swedish envoy to his country, Peter Semneby, efforts to end the siege imposed on the city by the Houthis, within the framework of the UN armistice.

And the official Yemeni news agency stated that Shamsan discussed, during his meeting with Semenbe - in the Saudi capital, Riyadh - efforts to make the UN truce successful, including lifting the siege on the city of Taiz and opening its crossings to the movement of citizens.

And the UN envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, announced last Friday that the parties to the conflict had agreed to a two-month truce that could be extended, with a previous welcome from the Saudi-led Arab coalition, government forces, and the Houthis loyal to Iran.

Yemen has previously witnessed several truces since 2015, sponsored by 3 former UN envoys, punctuated by violations, amid accusations by the two parties to the conflict that they obstructed their success.

But this truce is the most important, according to observers, as it allowed a partial reopening of Sanaa Airport (under the control of the Houthis), which has been closed to commercial flights since 2016, with approval for the entry of 18 oil ships to the port of Hodeidah within two months, in the highest rate of fuel access to Houthi areas since start the war.