SANAA: Yemen's warring parties are set to lay down their weapons for the first nationwide truce since 2016 on Saturday with all eyes on whether the UN-brokered ceasefire will hold.
The Ansar Allah fighters and coalition have both agreed to observe the two-month truce, which is to take effect at 1600 GMT on the first day of Ramadhan.
Yemen's intractable war has killed hundreds of thousands directly or indirectly and displaced millions, triggering the world's worst humanitarian crisis, according to the United Nations.
Previous ceasefires have been ineffective. A national truce ahead of peace talks in April 2016 was violated almost immediately, as were other ceasefires that year. A 2018 agreement to cease hostilities around Hodeida port, a lifeline for Yemen, was also largely ignored.
Both the Ansar Allah fighters and Saudi Arabia have welcomed the latest initiative, which follows a surge in attacks but also increasing diplomacy including ongoing talks -- snubbed by the fighters -- in Riyadh.
"This time I am optimistic. This truce is unlike all the previous ones," Asmaa Zayed, a college student who also works as a cashier in Hodeida, said. "The fact it comes with Ramadhan gives us a lot of hope. This war started when I was 15 years old and turned all my dreams into nightmares."
Under the agreement, all ground, air and sea military operations in Yemen and across its borders would stop, UN special envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said in his announcement.
Fuel ships would be allowed into Hodeida port and commercial flights could resume to certain regional destinations from the airport in the Ansar Allah-held capital Sanaa -- both key demands of the insurgents before they consider peace talks.
The two sides have also agreed to meet to open roads in Taez and other governorates, Grundberg said, adding the truce could be renewed with their consent.
"All Yemeni women, men and children that have suffered immensely through over seven years of war expect nothing less than an end to this war," said the Swedish diplomat.
With fighting in Yemen at a stalemate, the Ansar Allah fighters launched a series of drone and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia and coalition partner the UAE this year, often targeting oil facilities. The coalition has responded with air strikes.
Last week, on the war's seventh anniversary and a day after an attack on an oil plant within sight of the Formula One Grand Prix in the Saudi city of Jeddah, the Ansar Allah announced a three-day unilateral ceasefire.
The coalition then announced its own truce from Wednesday, ahead of discussions with international partners in Riyadh. The fighters declined to attend the talks in an "enemy" country.
Saudi Arabia on Saturday expressed its "support" for the UN ceasefire, which was also welcomed by US President Joe Biden and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
"These are important steps, but they are not enough," Biden said. "The ceasefire must be adhered to, and as I have said before, it is imperative that we end this war." The major question now is whether the truce will be observed.
The Norwegian Refugee Council called it "an essential development for millions of Yemenis who need a respite after years of relentless fighting".
"We really hope this is the start of a new chapter, giving Yemenis a chance to stand on their own two feet again in peace and stability," its Yemen country director Erin Hutchinson said in a statement.
The war in Yemen started when the Ansar Allah took control of Sanaa in 2014, prompting the Saudi-led intervention the following March in support of the ousted government. "Everything around us reeks of death and war," said Zayed, the student in Hodeida. "I think I will go into a depression if this truce ends or fails." - AFP
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