Dina Mahmoud (Aden, London)
The United Nations Special Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, considered that the renewal of the humanitarian truce sponsored by the organization, which is scheduled to expire soon, is a humanitarian and political necessity.
Grundberg stressed that the truce is an opportunity that cannot be missed, pointing to the great impact it has had on the lives of Yemenis.
A statement issued by the office of the UN envoy, yesterday evening, said that Grundberg stressed that there is an opportunity to build on and expand the benefits of the armistice, pointing out that the pursuit of peace over war requires courage and leadership from all parties.
He added that the opportunity will not come again, hinting at the possibility of a return to the state of war, with the continued intransigence of the terrorist “Houthi” militia.
On August 2, the United Nations announced that the Yemeni parties had agreed to extend the armistice for two additional months, according to the same conditions, until October 2, 2022.
This extension came after a previous UN armistice that took effect last April, on all fighting fronts in Yemen for a period of two months, and stipulated the cessation of offensive military operations.
Coinciding with the end of the UN truce, dozens of humanitarian and international organizations operating in Yemen called on the parties to the conflict to extend and expand the truce, noting that during the truce, “we witnessed a 60 percent decrease in the number of victims.”
Meanwhile, the World Food Program confirmed yesterday that last August witnessed the worst level of deterioration in food insecurity in Yemen in four years.
The International Organization for Migration had pointed out the slowdown in the pace of displacement in Yemen, since the implementation of this UN truce in April.
Data prepared by the organization indicated that the number of Yemeni families displaced at least once, during the second quarter of this year, decreased by approximately 59 percent, compared to its level in the first quarter, as the number of these families reached, between the first of April and 30 The last two June, more than two thousand families, comprising more than 12 thousand and 300 people. As for the first quarter of 2022, about 4950 families were displaced, the international organization did not specify the exact number of its members.
The same data stated that the strategic Marib Governorate, which was the scene of violent confrontations in the months prior to the entry into force of the truce, is still the first destination for the displaced in Yemen, which consolidates a trend that has prevailed since the outbreak of the conflict in this country, as a result of the terrorist “Houthi” coup against the government. Legitimacy in Sanaa, in the fall of 2014.
The number of families that were displaced to Marib, in the second quarter of this year, reached more than five hundred families, and the governorate itself was the scene of the largest number of displacements that took place between its regions, during the same period. As for Al-Hodeidah Governorate, it ranked second on the list of destinations where the displaced in Yemen took refuge during the same months, followed by Al-Dhalea in “Taiz” and then Shabwa.
Data prepared by the International Organization for Migration and published by the United Nations ReliefWeb website showed that concerns about security and safety are still the most prominent factor that pushes Yemenis to leave their homes, noting that this reason is what prompted 79 percent of the population to leave their homes. One hundred displaced families during the second quarter of 2022, to take this step, followed by the economic factors resulting in turn, from the aggression that the Houthi coup militias continued to wage against the Yemeni people, about eight years ago.
In parallel with the steady decline monitored by the organization, in the number of displaced people in Yemen, in light of the continuation of the truce that has been extended twice so far, its data revealed that the total of families who were displaced at least once in this country, during the first half of this year, was A little more than seven thousand families, comprising more than 42 thousand people.
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