Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen urges conflict parties to heed calls for truce extension [EN/AR]

Sana’a, 4 October 2022 – The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, David Gressly, urged the parties to Yemen’s conflict to build on the gains achieved over the last six months and commit to extending and expanding the truce.

“I strongly urge the parties to the conflict to heed calls by the UN Secretary-General and his Special Envoy for Yemen for truce extension and expansion to build on the gains achieved over the last six months,” Mr. Gressly said. “The people of Yemen need peace. Without it, the drivers of the humanitarian crisis would persist, and people would continue to suffer.”

The truce, which first came into effect on 2 April 2022, improved humanitarian access to people in need living in previously hard-to-reach areas, enhanced people’s access to services and encouraged the return of internally displaced people to their original communities in areas near the frontlines. Truce extension will reinforce these gains, allowing humanitarians to access new areas. It will also enable the expansion of operations for clearing landmines and unexploded ordnance, which have emerged as a leading cause of civilian causalities after the truce.

The truce has also significantly improved the flow of fuel into Yemen’s Red Sea ports and led to the opening of Sana’a airport to commercial flights. Fuel quantities that entered Yemen through the Hodeidah ports since the truce announcement are more than three-fold those seen in 2021. Some 26,642 people have been able to travel on commercial flights from Sana'a, many critically ill seeking medical treatment abroad.

Furthermore, the truce drove significant reductions in internal displacement and incidents causing harm to civilians. The six months since its announcement saw the monthly rate of people displaced internally decrease by 76 per cent. During the same period, the number of civilians killed or injured by fighting shrank by 54 percent.

“The dividends of peace are manifold. Among other things, it will allow Yemen’s shattered economy to recover,” said Mr. Gressly. “I again urge the parties to the conflict to seize this opportunity. They must extend the truce and agree on a path toward a sustainable peace for the benefit of all Yemenis.”

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