Yemen

The Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen announced Monday a ceasefire between the internationally recognized government and southern separatists who have declared self-rule after a series of military gains. … The southern separatists and the government are technically allies in the fight against the Houthi rebels, but the rift between them represents a damaging “war within a war” in the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country.

Saudi Arabia has proposed a framework to end the latest standoff in southern Yemen between nominal allies under a Saudi-led coalition, three sources said, as violence escalates with the Iran-aligned Houthi movement in the north of the country.

Aid organizations are making an urgent plea for funding to shore up their operations in war-torn Yemen, saying they have already been forced to stop some of their work even as the coronavirus rips through the country. Some 75% of U.N. programs in Yemen have had to shut their doors or reduce operations.

The United Nations warns COVID-19 could have catastrophic consequences for millions of people in Yemen, and worsen what is already the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

The UN has pulled out over half its remaining international staff from Yemen’s capital to protect them from the spread of COVID-19, according to several UN sources.

UN Special Envoy for war-weary Yemen, Martin Griffiths, told the Security Council on Thursday, that he had been in intensive negotiations with the warring parties in Yemen over a lasting peace deal, with "significant progress" made, especially towards making the UN's call for a complete silencing of the guns, a reality.

The World Health Organization has suspended its operations in the main Houthi-held areas of Yemen to pressure the rebel group to be more open about suspected coronavirus cases. They include the Yemeni capital of Sana’a and Hodeidah, the country’s main port on the Red Sea.

Yemen’s dominant southern separatist group declared self-rule in the parts of the country it controls on Sunday, leading to fears of a new and even more dangerous conflict after five years of war. The Southern Transitional Council said in its announcement that it planned to govern several southern provinces, including the capital city of Aden, which the internationally recognised government of President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi also claims as its seat.

The needs of Yemen’s people should be put first, ahead of actions that risk escalating the already dire situation inside the war-shattered country, UN Special Envoy for the war-weary country, Martin Griffiths, said on Monday. … In a statement, Mr. Griffiths called for greater support for a Saudi-led initiative known as the Riyadh Agreement, which seeks to resolve political differences between the Government of Yemen and the STC, improve stability and the functioning of State institutions.

The Saudi-led coalition said Friday, April 24, it was extending a unilateral ceasefire in Yemen by one month to combat the coronavirus pandemic, even as fighting persists in the war-torn country.