Iran, UN Urge Yemen Ceasefire to Continue in Ramadan
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian and Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the UN special envoy to Yemen, called for a ceasefire that has been in place in Yemen since April to continue as the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan is approaching.
In a telephone conversation on Friday, Amir Abdollahian and Cheikh Ahmed exchanged views on the latest developments in the impoverished Arab country, urging all sides involved in the conflict to adhere to the ceasefire during the holy month of Ramadan and allow for deliveries of humanitarian aid.
Emphasizing that a political solution is the only way to settle the crisis in Yemen, the Iranian and UN officials also highlighted the importance of the UN-brokered peace talks in Kuwait.
According to reports, the warring sides in the Yemeni conflict are close to reaching a major deal in Kuwait, where they have been negotiating for more than a month.
The peace talks have been going on in Kuwait since April 21. Mediated by the United Nations (UN), the negotiations drew together the representatives of Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement and those loyal to Yemen’s former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.
The two sides have reportedly agreed to carry out a major prisoner swap prior to holy month of Ramadan.
Sources from the Houthi delegation said in late May that 1,000 prisoners captured during the Saudi-led war on Yemen would be exchanged.
However, a source close to Hadi said the agreement entailed the release of “all detainees,” who number more than 4,000.
The sources added that “local committees” will be formed to speed up the process of the exchange before the start of Ramadan, which falls on June 7 this year.
Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies have been launching deadly airstrikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in an attempt to restore power to the fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.
Nearly 9,400 Yemenis, including 4,000 women and children, have lost their lives in the deadly military campaign.
