[ad_1]
Houthi rebels in Yemen say they are ready to institute a ceasefire if the Saudi-UAE military alliance fighting against the movement is willing to do the same.
"We are ready to freeze and put an end to military operations on all fronts in order to achieve a just and honorable peace if they really want peace for the Yemeni people," said Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, Chairman of the Supreme Committee of the Group Revolution, said in a statement on Twitter.
Al-Houthi called on the group's forces to refrain from conducting attacks and said the move, in a gesture of goodwill, would end all drone and missile attacks against Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and their Yemeni allies.
"We announce our initiative and call the Yemeni leader [Houthi] the authorities must stop launching missiles and unmanned aircraft on the Saudi-American countries of aggression and their allies in Yemen in order to give up any justification for the continuation of their aggression or their siege, "he added.
International pressure has increased on the Yemeni parties to the conflict to end the war that has killed more than 56,000 people according to a recent estimate and has pushed the country to the brink of starvation.
Monday, the United Kingdom should submit a draft resolution to the Security Council to resolve the conflict.
We want to prove to the world that we want peace
Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, member of the Houthis Political Bureau
"Major relief for Yemenis"
UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths has attempted to negotiate peace talks and is expected to travel to Sanaa this week to meet with group leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi.
|
Yemen: Peace Talks: Both Parties Must Participate in Discussions |
He will also travel to Hodeida to discuss UN plans to take control of the city's port and monitor the arrival of deliveries and aid supplies.
The port held by the rebels is the main point of entry for humanitarian aid and goods. Before the war, it accounted for 70 to 80% of the country's vital imports.
Last week, pro-government forces suspended their offensive to resume port after several days of incessant airstrikes.
Mr Griffiths stated that the warring parties had given him "firm assurances" that they were committed to participating in the peace talks scheduled to take place in Sweden before the end of the year.
Both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have stated that they support the UN-led peace talks.
Mohammed Adow of Al Jazeera, of neighboring Djibouti, said the announcement of the Houthis was a "big deal" for the millions of Yemenis who watched the famine.
"The Houthis said they made that decision as a result of Griffiths' request.
"This will bring major relief to the hundreds of thousands of civilians still trapped in Hodeidah who are preparing for a new conflict."
Deadly air strikes
The Houthis claim that their missile attacks on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are a response to the thousands of airstrikes it has carried out in Yemen since it entered the war in March 2015.
The conflict had begun nearly a year earlier when the Yemeni government had slashed fuel subsidies in the summer of 2014, sparking mass protests in Sanaa.
The Houthis seized this opportunity and headed south, from their stronghold in Sa'ada province to the capital, where they overthrew the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
According to the Yemen Data Project, an independent watchdog, the alliance has conducted more than 18,000 air raids in this impoverished country, nearly one-third affecting civilian targets such as schools, markets and hospitals.
Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi Political Bureau, said the group wanted to "prove to the world" that he "wanted peace".
"When Saudi Arabia began its aggression against Yemen [in March 2015] we did not answer for 40 days. We wanted to show who does what. We wanted to make sure that Saudi Arabia could not find any justification if we responded.
"Today's step is to clarify our position, and we have also announced that we are ready to end all operations to show the world who is doing what and to give the world a chance." We want to prove to the world that we want peace. "
 |
[ad_2]Source link
