Yemeni Official Slams Saudi-Led Coalition’s Violations of Truce
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Saudi-led coalition refuses to fully commit to the terms of a truce that has been brokered by the United Nations, a Yemeni official said.
Hussein Al-Ezzi, deputy foreign minister in Yemen’s National Salvation Government, said on Friday that the coalition “doesn't respect its obligations to the truce,” Yemen’s al-Masirah television network reported.
The ceasefire agreement was mediated by the UN between the coalition and Yemen’s popular Ansarullah resistance movement on April 2.
In line with the agreement, the coalition agreed to end its attacks on the Yemeni soil that it began in March 2015 with the goal of changing Yemen’s power structure in favor of the country’s former Saudi-allied officials.
The coalition also agreed to end a simultaneous siege that it has been enforcing against Yemen.
Al-Ezzi, however, said the coalition was “still obstructing” flights to the Sana'a International Airport in Yemen’s capital and “detaining fuel ships” that are headed to the impoverished country.
He also censured the UN for failing to accurately document the coalition’s violations.
“Statements released by UN are not accurate to cover the Saudi aggression’s lack of commitment” to the ceasefire.
Speaking hours after the truce was announced by the UN special envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg, Yemen’s armed forces said they were committed to the truce as long as the other parties to the conflict respected it too.
The truce was announced after Yemen’s Supreme Political Council declared a voluntary and unilateral three-day pause in retaliatory strikes against targets in Saudi Arabia.