The head of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, discussed, on Saturday, with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, efforts to bring peace and stability to Yemen, while the Yemeni army announced that 8 of its soldiers were killed by Houthi fire within two days, despite the truce in force between the two parties.
During the meeting, which was held in the city of Jeddah, western Saudi Arabia, Al-Alimi affirmed the commitment of the Presidential Leadership Council and the Yemeni government to the path of a just and comprehensive peace, based on national, regional and international references.
Al-Alimi called for an active American role to pressure the Houthis to implement the terms of the armistice, including the main roads in Taiz (southwest), which has been besieged for seven years.
For his part, Blinken affirmed his country's commitment to supporting Yemen's unity, sovereignty and stability, and encouraging regional and international allies to provide more economic and humanitarian support to the Presidential Command Council, the government and the Yemeni people.
He stressed the need for the Houthis to adhere to the implementation of all provisions of the armistice, especially the opening of the Taiz crossings.
Blinken affirmed his country's commitment to maintain pressure to push the Houthis to fulfill their obligations under the armistice declaration.
military escalation
On the ground, the media center of the Yemeni armed forces said that "the Iranian-backed Houthi militia committed 188 violations of the UN armistice on Thursday and Friday."
The center said in a statement that the violations occurred on the fronts of Al-Hodeidah (west), Taiz (southwest), Al-Dhalea (south), Hajjah, Saada, Al-Jawf (north) and Marib (central).
He added that the Houthi violations varied between shooting at the army positions from artillery, various calibers, snipers and booby-trapped drones, which resulted in the martyrdom of 8 national army heroes and the injury of 9 others in separate locations.
He pointed out that the Houthi militia is creating sites, digging trenches, building fortifications, mobilizing reinforcements, and deploying reconnaissance drones on various fronts, taking advantage of the commitment of the National Army forces to the ceasefire.
The Houthis did not immediately comment on the Yemeni army statement.
This is the highest death toll in two days, announced by the Yemeni army since the start of the truce, according to the Anatolia correspondent.
The Yemeni government and the Houthi group agreed, in early June, to extend a humanitarian truce in the country for a period of two months, after the end of a similar truce that began on the second of last April.
Among the most prominent provisions of the truce is the ceasefire and the opening of the port of Hodeidah, in addition to restarting commercial flights through Sanaa airport, and opening roads in the city of Taiz, which has been besieged by the Houthis for seven years.
For more than 7 years, Yemen has been witnessing a continuous war between forces loyal to the legitimate government, backed by an Arab military coalition led by the neighboring Saudi Arabia, and the Iranian-backed Houthis, who have controlled several governorates, including Sanaa, since September 2014.