A two-month nationwide truce between the warring sides in Yemen will begin Saturday, the start of the holy month of Ramadan, a United Nations envoy announced on Friday.
This is the first time the U.N. has brokered a deal between the Saudi-led coalition and the Iran-backed rebel Houthi group in years, marking a significant step toward ending the seven-year conflict that has killed tens of thousands and left millions in famine conditions.
“The aim of this Truce is to give Yemenis a necessary break from violence, relief from the humanitarian suffering and most importantly hope that an end to this conflict is possible,” U.N. Special Envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg said in a statement.
The deal lays out rules such as halting offensive military operations and allowing fuel ships to enter Houthi-held Hodeidah port and commercial flights in and out of the airport in the capital. It can be renewed after the two-month period with the consent of both parties.
Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war since 2014, when the Houthis took control of the capital city Sana’a to form a new government.
The Biden administration has made it a goal to help resolve the crisis and appointed a special envoy in February 2021.
In February, the head of the U.N. food agency warned that 13 million Yemenis face starvation.