US praises the UAE’s strong support for Yemen's truce‏‏

English version

اليمن العربي

The US has praised the UAE’s strong support for Yemen's truce and called for greater international backing after attempts to extend the ceasefire failed.

Tim Lenderking، the US envoy to Yemen، held a meeting with Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed، Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation.

"We must support stability across Yemen and help the country get back on the path to durable peace،" Mr Lenderking said during the meeting.

The US State Department issued a statement which said the envoy welcomed the UAE's backing for the UN-led truce and for Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council.

The war in Yemen erupted in 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi rebels ousted the government from the capital Sanaa.

The ceasefire، which came into effect at 7pm on April 2 and was extended twice for two-month periods، brought relative calm across the country.

Long-standing issues، such as reopening the roads around the besieged city of Taez and paying civil servants' salaries after six years of stagnation، have hampered real progress towards political peace.

The Houthi rebels، who are at war against the internationally recognised government، rejected a proposal put forth by the UN's special envoy، Hans Grundberg، to extend the truce for a further six months and to broaden it to new areas of agreement.

Yemen's Foreign Minister، Ahmed bin Mubarak، said his government wanted to renew the ceasefire with the rebels and would not escalate the conflict.

"We are determined to renew the ceasefire and address all problems through dialogue،" Mr Mubarak said during a visit to Morocco.


According to humanitarian groups، the truce facilitated moves to alleviate the dire humanitarian situation in the country.

Mr Mubarak said the government wanted to preserve those gains.

"We have not made any escalatory moves، despite the Houthis announcing that the Red Sea is a military zone and directly threatening ships،" he said.

Nearly 80 per cent of Yemen's population depends on aid after eight years of war.

The Saudi Project for Landmines Clearance in Yemen (MASAM) announced Friday that it has successfully removed 360،573 landmines، improvised explosive devices and various unexploded ordnance in eight liberated provinces in Yemen.


It said a number of Arab studies and research centers in Cairo have recently honored this project by MASAM for its humanitarian role in saving the lives of millions of Yemenis.


MASAM’s Assistant Director General Professor Khaled al-Otaibi received the awards on the behalf of the project’s Managing Director، Ousama al-Gosaibi.


During its four-year operation period، the project lost 33 deminers، including five foreign experts and 28 Yemeni nationals، while more than 42 were injured during the demining operations.


Gosaibi said that the Iranian-backed Houthi militias plant and re-plant mines on daily basis، with little consideration for the lives of civilians، including children، women and the elderly who make up the majority of landmine victims in Yemen.


He affirmed that the project seeks to develop its capabilities and methods in the field of demining despite the militias’ insistence to develop their methods to target the largest possible number of civilians.


He further pointed out that the militias have introduced new technology into the manufacture of these explosives and mines، including new methods and mechanisms to remotely detonate these booby-traps.


Highlighting long technical assessment of the makeup of these new types of landmines، Gosaibi stressed that this act amounts to war crimes committed indiscriminately against civilians.


The technical evaluations show that the explosives and booby-traps are manufactured and installed inside Yemen، but the materials used in their manufacture are imported and cannot be locally manufactured.


He also revealed that Houthis have adopted a brutal approach by professionally planting explosives and booby-traps in schools، health centers and water tanks، in large quantities.


Clearing Yemen of mines will take years Gosaibi lamented، underlining the density of landmines and the lack of minefield maps.


MASAM estimates that the militias planted more than one million landmines and explosive devices in the areas they ran.


In May، Saudi Arabia extended MASAM’s operations for a fifth year at an estimated cost of $33.3 million to carry out its mission in Yemen – clearing residential areas (homes، water sources and places of worship)، schools، and roads of Houthi planted landmines.


Landmines have claimed the lives of thousands of Yemenis، and injured tens of thousands of people – often with disabling injuries and amputations.


On April 4، the United Nations Development Program office in Yemen revealed that landmines and unexploded ordnance had killed or injured 1،800 civilians، including 689 women and children، in a number of Yemeni governorates over the last four years.


Reports from international and local organizations confirm that Yemen has witnessed one of the largest mine-laying operations on its territory since the end of World War II.