Riyadh- After the U.N. special envoy to Yemen announced the Houthis acceptance of implementing resolution 2216 – which stipulates ceasefire, abandoning arms and application of the Gulf initiative and national negotiated agreements- Yemenis across the Sadaa governorate were overwhelmingly relieved.
Implementing the 2216 U.N. resolution represents the first step towards the end of the years-ongoing war that ravaged the country.
U.N. special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed spoke to reporters in New York on March 23rd, and said that conflicting Yemeni parties have agreed to ceasefire. End of hostilities will be put into effect as of 9th of April, midnight. Negotiations will resume between both conflict parties for a third round of peace talks, which will take place on the eighth day after the truce in Kuwait.
The truce offers force withdrawal from cities, confiscation of heavy arms by the government, the launch of final security preparations for Yemen, restoration of government, appeal of political negotiations in Sana’a and the establishment of committees for captives on both conflict ends.
U.N. envoy Ahmed confirmed that the upcoming round of peace talks will be a last chance for terminating war in Yemen.
He emphasized on all sides to the conflict to abstain from any tension prodding action, so that the road to ceasefire is best paved. This is a chance to urge everyone to have faith in good, and the possibility of accomplishing political solution for the war-torn country, U.N. envoy Ahmed added.
In a phone call with Yemeni Vice President Khaled Bahah, U.N. envoy Ahmed confirmed the importance of the devoted efforts spent by the legitimate government for peace-making. Among the considerable efforts are the recent meetings joining Bahah and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Kimoon , in each of Paris and Abu Dhabi, to deliberate on the peace-making process in Yemen.
The Yemeni official news agency announced that Ahmed and Bahah, in the phone call, have discussed on all efforts for a truce and reinstating peace in Yemen, which are based on the Gulf initiative and its executive mechanism, the outcome of national comprehensive negotiations and the U.N. resolution 2216.
Vice President Bahah praised the constant efforts of U.N. special envoy Ahmed, and highlighted the essential need to halt the ongoing conflict and the establishment of permanent peace for a secure future.
On his behalf Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi pointed out that despite all field measures, his administration is concerned with the lives of Yemeni people and homeland interests, which urged them to use wisdom when dealing with their humanitarian and ethical responsibilities for the Yemeni people.
In the ballpark, a Yemeni MP revealed that Russia and Oman have directly mediated for ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh to safely exit Sana’a with his family. The legitimate government received the mediating proposal, which set Saleh’s escape in exchange for handing in the Republic Guard’s arms and delivering Sana’a with no military confrontations; Saleh is also to be free from legal prosecution.