The United Nations Thursday appealed to all sides in the Yemen conflict to respect a fragile five-day truce in the country in a bid to boost the delivery of sorely-needed aid. The plea made by the UN envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Sheikh Ahmed, came as Saudi-led forces accused Shiite rebels of violating the truce on Thursday, two days after it took effect.
But the Saudi-led coalition said it would abide by the ceasefire, and stick to its decision to temporarily halt weeks of airstrikes on Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
The UN envoy said in a statement he was “very worried about violations of the truce”, urging all sides to “strictly respect a cessation of military operations... to allow the flow of aid”.
Wrapping up his first visit to Yemen, he urged all sides involved in the conflict to spare airports, ports and any other infrastructure necessary for the smooth delivery of aid to the embattled population.
The humanitarian pause that began late Tuesday is the first break in the air war the coalition launched on March 26 in support of President Abdrabu Mansour Hadi, and has backing from Washington.
A coalition statement said Houthi rebels had violated the truce 12 times, including with artillery and rocket attacks in several towns in southern Yemen.
Despite the alleged violations, the coalition pledged “its full commitment to the humanitarian truce and restraint”.
An aviation official said a plane arrived from Jordan on Wednesday with 150 passengers on board.
Another airport official said that two flights, from Doctors Without Borders and the United Nations, landed Thursday in Sanaa.
Warnings of a dire humanitarian crisis have mounted since the air war started, with aid agencies saying fuel, water and medicine were running out.
Nadia Sakkaf, Yemen's information minister now based in Riyadh, said seven vessels carrying food supplies, medical aid and fuel had docked in Yemeni ports.
She said daily flights linking Yemen to Jordan and Egypt would continue until May 18 — when the truce is due to end.
Qatar and Kuwait said they will offer Yemen 120 and 40 tons of medical aid, respectively.
Saudi Arabia has offered its neighbor $540 million in aid and humanitarian operations. — Agencies
