Yemen’s warring parties have committed to a new ceasefire and agreed to engage in a United Nations-led peace process to end the war.
The announcement by the UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, marks the latest step to end the nine-year war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
It follows recent meetings in Saudi Arabia and Oman with Mr Grundberg and Rashad Al-Alimi, head of Yemen’s Saudi-backed presidential council and Mohammed Abdul Salam, the chief negotiator of the Iran-backed Huthi rebels.
Mr Grundberg said he “welcomes the parties’ commitment to a set of measures to implement a nation-wide ceasefire and to engage in preparations for the resumption of an inclusive political process,” according to a statement by his office.
Yemen has been gripped by conflict since the Iran-backed Huthi rebels took control of the capital Sanaa in 2014, triggering a Saudi-led military intervention in support of the beleaguered government the following year.
The agreement comes amid a flurry of attacks by the Huthi rebels on key shipping lanes in the Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is fighting Hamas militants.
They have launched more than 100 drone and missile attacks, targeting 10 merchant vessels involving more than 35 different countries, according to the Pentagon.
