Sporadic clashes hit Yemen ahead of midnight ceasefire

The new ceasefire, which started at midnight (1am UAE), can be the cornerstone of a long-lasting peace deal negotiated between Yemen’s warring parties from April 18 in Kuwait.

Pro-government fighters stand next to a burnt tank in Yemen where clashes with Houthis continued ahead of a ceasefire. Nabil Hassan / AFP

Marib, Yemen // Sporadic fighting gripped parts of Yemen on Sunday, hours before a UN-brokered ceasefire aimed at laying the groundwork for upcoming peace talks was due to take effect.

The new ceasefire, which was timed to start at midnight (1am UAE), is supposed to be the cornerstone of a long-lasting peace deal negotiated between Yemen’s warring parties from April 18 in Kuwait.

The truce would bring to an end months of war which started when Iran-backed Houthi rebels overran the capital Sanaa in September 2014 and later advanced to other regions. A Saudi-led military campaign was launched in response in support of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and his internationally-recognised government.

Fighting raged on Sunday in regions surrounding Sanaa, while the rebel-held city itself, was quiet.

Rebels and their allies exchanged mortar and artillery fire with pro-Hadi forces in the Sarwah region of Marib province east of Sanaa.

Aircraft from the Arab coalition also carried out air strikes to stop rebels seeking to retake a military base pro-government forces had recaptured in late 2015, military sources said.

A pro-Hadi commander in Sarwah, Lieutenant Colonel Abdullah Hasan, said loyalists will “observe the ceasefire as soon as it comes into effect at midnight”.

“But if the Houthis attack us, the situation will return to what it was” before the truce, he warned, pointing out that four of his men were killed by rebel mortar fire on Sunday.

Further north, coalition jets struck Houthi positions in Jawf province, according to the rebels.

There were also clashes in Nihm north-east of Sanaa, witnesses said.

The planned truce was only agreed by the warring sides after months of shuttle diplomacy by UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.

The rebels and Mr Hadi’s government said this week that they have submitted their observations to the UN mediator on the terms of the ceasefire, which will test their willingness to negotiate a peace deal at the Kuwait talks.

“We will go to the consultations [in Kuwait] to achieve peace,” Mr Hadi reiterated on Saturday, insisting however that the rebels must commit to UN Security Council Resolution 2216 calling for their withdrawal from seized territory and disarmament.

Previous UN-sponsored negotiations failed to make any headway, and a ceasefire in December was repeatedly violated and eventually abandoned by the coalition on January 2.

But analysts are more optimistic this time after mediation efforts have largely silenced guns along Yemen’s border with Saudi Arabia, and a Houthi delegation has also visited Riyadh for talks.

The Houthis and Saudi Arabia exchanged prisoners in March after unprecedented talks mediated by tribes along the frontier, where dozens of people have been killed in cross-border shelling.

“For the first time, the groups that can end major military operations, particularly the Saudis and the Houthis, appear to be more willing to do so,” said April Longley Alley, a Yemen specialist at the International Crisis Group.

But “even if major combat ends, the road to peace in Yemen will be long and difficult and internal conflict is likely to continue for some time”.

Yemenis appear to have learnt not to get their hopes up after previous ceasefires collapsed.

“I do not expect the truce to succeed,” said Zayed Al Qaisi, a resident of Marib. “The Houthis have not honoured their commitments during the wars against the state since 2004.”

The Houthis fought six wars with the central government between 2004 and 2010 that killed thousands.

*Agence France-Presse