Yemen’s Houthis propose ceasefire initiative

Monitoring Desk

SANAA: A leader of Yemen’s Houthi rebel group on Tuesday unveiled an initiative aimed at halting all military activity in the war-weary country.

In a Tuesday tweet, Mohamed Ali al-Houthi, head of the group’s so-called Supreme Revolutionary Commission, reiterated calls for a “political solution” to the almost four-year-old conflict.

“Our initiative would include instructions from Yemeni official parties [in reference to Houthi institutions] to halt all military and naval operations for a specified, renewable period,” he said. Al-Houthi voiced hope that a Saudi-led military coalition — cobbled together in 2015 to fight the rebel group — would reciprocate, “if they really want peace for the Yemeni people”.

The Yemeni government, which is currently headquartered in the coastal city of Aden and which is closely supported by the Saudi-led coalition, has yet to issue a formal response to the proposal. The government, however, has previously said it would not negotiate with the rebel group until the latter surrendered the strategic Red Sea port of Al-Hudaydah.

While the Houthis have rejected the notion of a unilateral withdrawal from Al-Hudaydah, they have nevertheless voiced their readiness to accept a supervisory role by the UN over the seaport.

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