Yemen Truce Expires, Threat of Renewed Fighting Grows

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Facts

  • The six-month truce between the Iran-backed Houthi rebels and the Saudi and UAE-backed Yemeni government expired on Sunday without being extended as fears of a renewal of large-scale fighting grow.
  • The truce was originally implemented in April, and since then has been renewed twice, but now both sides are becoming reluctant to continue the ceasefire. The UN's Yemen Envoy, Hans Grundberg, called for the continuation of talks to reach an agreement.
  • Ceasefire violations from both sides have been common, but high-intensity fighting has diminished, with the truce being the first major pause in the eight-year-long conflict that started in 2014.
  • The Houthis' partial siege of the city of Taiz has been one of the main points of contention between the two sides. Talks to open the main roads into Taiz, which is controlled by the Houthis, have continued to stall.
  • Though fighting between the Houthis and the government had largely paused since April, recent fighting between Yemen's Islamist Islah Party, and the UAE-backed Giants Brigade pointed to a growing divide within the government's Presidential Leadership Council (PLC).
  • Since the conflict began in 2014, Yemen's civil war has triggered one of the world's worst ongoing humanitarian crises, killing more than 150K people and displacing millions of civilians.

Sources: Middle East Eye, Al Jazeera, PBS News Hour, and Sanaa Center.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by The National News. The Houthis have continued to threaten peace and security in Yemen since they launched their coup in 2014, and the failure to renew the truce is no different. What is the point of implementing an agreement if one side does not fulfill its promises? In this case, the Houthis refused to lift the siege of Taiz and allow humanitarian aid into the city, which was one of the key points in the agreement.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Al Mayadeen. It's the Yemeni government and its powerful Gulf allies who have obstructed peace in Yemen and continue to punish its citizens for standing up for themselves. The Saudi-led coalition has not taken the truce or its terms seriously, and the only reason fighting hasn't broken out is because the Houthis have acted with restraint and caution. Peace will only be found when the siege of Yemen is lifted.
  • Cynical narrative, as provided by The Washington Post. The war in Yemen, now in its eighth year, is every bit as brutal as what's taking place in Ukraine, and both sides have violated the agreed ceasefire on numerous occasions. The West's failure to address this humanitarian disaster or cover it in the media with any sort of urgency says a lot about the world's inherent bias and who is considered worthy versus unworthy victims.