UN Pushes to Extend Yemen Truce Amid Violations, Escalations

The aftermath of a Saudi airstrike in Yemen. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Yemen’s Houthi rebels and the Saudi-led coalition blamed one another on October 22 of violating a UN-brokered ceasefire, which the UN sought to extend as it neared expiration at midnight. The alleged breaches of the 72-hour truce, which took effect on October 19, came as the Yemeni Civil War escalates following a high-casualty coalition airstrike and clashes between the U.S. Navy and the Iran-backed Houthis.

The coalition claimed that the Houthis broke the ceasefire with rocket and mortar strikes, snipers, and ground assaults, in Yemen and in Saudi Arabia. The Shiite Houthis, in turn, said that they had thwarted a coalition offensive backed by airstrikes against the capital, Sanaa. The ceasefire provided an opening for aid in a war that has left millions homeless and over 4,000 civilians dead.

The October 8 Saudi coalition airstrike on the al-Sala al-Kubra hall during a funeral ceremony killed at least 100, wounded over 500, and sparked international condemnation. A coalition investigation faulted incorrect intelligence and breaches of procedure in the lethal attack, while the UN charged that the raid inflicted disproportionate civilian casualties. The airstrike also fueled ceasefire demands from the UK and the US, which has provided the coalition with weapons, intelligence, and logistics support.

Moreover, a recent skirmish between Houthi forces and the U.S. Navy in the Red Sea, followed by the Iranian deployment of two ships to Yemen, has raised fears of overt U.S. military intervention and a standoff with Iran. Following two unsuccessful missile attacks on the U.S.S. Mason, a destroyer in the Red Sea, the US retaliated on October 12 with cruise missile strikes on three coastal radar installations allegedly used in the attacks. The US is reportedly investigating whether the missiles came from Iran, as General Joseph Votel of Central Command has charged. The Houthis denied attacking the Mason, and Iran sent a frigate and a logistics ship to the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, where the incident occurred. Analysts say that the move aims to project Iranian strength and shore up Houthi morale.