Today, Monday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called for an extension of the current truce in Yemen, saying it has improved the lives of the people of the war-ravaged country.
At a meeting with President of the Presidential Command Council in Yemen Rashad Al-Alimi on the eve of the UN General Assembly, Blinken praised the country’s new leader and his “vital” role.
“I think it’s fair to say that the truce, the effects of which are being felt throughout Yemen, has greatly improved the lives of the people, and your leadership has made a great contribution to protecting this truce,” the US Secretary of State said.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said Blinken emphasized the “urgency” of extending the UN-brokered truce with the Houthi rebels, which expires Oct. 2.
The truce, which has been extended twice so far, has provided a breather in the fighting, although tensions remain in the country, which has been in conflict for more than eight years.
The conflict in Yemen has been raging since 2014 between the Houthis, who control Sana’a and other areas in the north and west of the country, and government forces backed by a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia. According to the United Nations, the war resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths, either directly or as a result of its consequences.
Hunger threatens millions of Yemenis, and thousands, including many in rebel-controlled areas, are in need of urgent medical care not available in a country whose infrastructure has been destroyed. About 80 percent of Yemen’s 30 million people depend on aid to survive.
