A Yemeni government source refuted the claims made by the Iran-backed Houthi militias about the nationwide truce that expired on Sunday without another extension.
It stressed that the government, since the moment the truce was declared in April, sought to deal positively with all international efforts and initiatives to end the bloodshed and restore peace.
It offered major concessions out of its sense of responsibility to ease the humanitarian suffering caused by the war that erupted because of the Houthi coup in 2014, continued the source.
The Houthis, on the other hand, have failed to respect their commitments and sought to place obstacles to make sure that it failed, it charged.
The people and international community have grown accustomed to such behavior from the militias.
Regarding the militias’ claims about the truce, the source said the United Nations ceasefire demanded the opening of main routes leading to Houthi-besieged Taiz.
The Houthis, however, showed inexplicable intransigence over this issue and refused to open the main roads.
The reopening of routes to Taiz was a main sticking point in the truce.
The Houthis even set unnecessary conditions to open the roads, including imposing tolls on travelers. They rejected all government and UN demands to drop these conditions, added the source.
On Hodeidah port, it recalled that the UN sponsored in December 2019 an agreement between the legitimate government and Houthis that facilitates the entry of oil derivatives to the port.
The agreement ensures that the oil is delivered according to a clear mechanism and standards that limit trade on the black market and the smuggling of Iranian oil.
The revenues were to be deposited at the Central Bank in Hodeidah and used to pay public sector salaries.
The militias have violated the agreement, said the source. They have looted the funds and created successive crises to scuttle the deal.
The truce, however, helped restore the agreement and oil was indeed delivered to the port. Over 54 shipments were delivered with revenues topping 203 billion rials.
No sooner had the ship activity become regular that the Houthis placed hurdles to impede the shipments, leading to a crisis last month.
On the resumption of flights from Sanaa International Airport in line with the truce, the source said the government had made several proposals to ease the Yemeni people’s suffering and launch domestic flights.
It was ready to respond to international initiatives to ease travel, but the Houthis were not.
The truce led to the launch of flights from Amman and Cairo. Fifty flights have been flown between Sanaa and Amman, but only one to Cairo.
The plan to resume flights to Cairo was obstructed by Houthi demands that passengers travel using passports issued by the militias. Many countries do not recognize these passports, which the legitimate government also deems illegal, said the source.
The government instead offered a solution to the problem, but the Houthis refused to even discuss it, it added.
