A taxi drives on a mountainous detour road around Taez, Yemen. Reuters
A taxi drives on a mountainous detour road around Taez, Yemen. Reuters
A taxi drives on a mountainous detour road around Taez, Yemen. Reuters
A taxi drives on a mountainous detour road around Taez, Yemen. Reuters

UN envoy pushes Yemen’s Houthis to reopen Taez roads and keep 'fragile truce' alive


James Reinl
  • English
  • Arabic

The UN envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, on Tuesday pushed Yemen’s Houthi rebels to keep the country’s fragile truce alive by helping to reopen roads into the south-western city of Taez.

Yemen’s government backs UN plans to reopen the Habwan route into the government-held city, but the Houthis, who see the road as a front line in the war, are dragging their feet, he said.

The closed roads into Taez and other cities have become a sticking point in talks on an April 1 truce between Yemen's warring parties, which raised hopes of an end to years of death and destruction.

“While I am encouraged by the positive response by the government of Yemen to the United Nations proposal, I am still waiting for a response from Ansar Allah,” said Mr Grundberg, using the Houthis’ official name.

“Following the constructive discussions I had in [Yemen’s Houthi-held capital] Sanaa at the end of last week, I urge Ansar Allah to respond positively without delay to the United Nations proposals.”

The UN plan for reopening roads involves ensuring civilians can use the routes safely. The Houthis reportedly say they cannot move their forces from a front-line position outside the government-held city.

Mr Grundberg says the “long and arduous” mountain route from Sanaa to Taez takes twice as long as the more direct but closed three-hour main road.

Poor access to the city has “crippled the economy” and denied some locals access to medical care, he said.

The hold-up has exposed “the fragility of the truce” between the rebels and the government, which was extended on June 2, said Mr Grundberg, and “delays to implementation might threaten to unravel it in its entirety”.

“Resorting to transactionalism, threatening to condition the implementation of one element of the truce against another, and using escalatory media rhetoric undermines the truce,” he told the UN Security Council in New York.

Council members met amid signs of diplomatic progress in the region, with Houthi officials and Saudi Arabia, which backs Yemen’s government, reportedly resuming direct talks over a potential peace and security deal along the kingdom’s border.

The so far sporadic negotiations between senior Saudi and Houthi officials resumed last month before the scheduled renewal of a UN-brokered truce, Reuters reported. They were enabled by Oman and could lead to a face-to-face meeting in Muscat.

US President Joe Biden has also announced plans to meet Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman next month, indicating an effort to bolster ties with Riyadh that have grown strained since Mr Biden came into office.

The Houthis seized control of Sanaa in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention to support the government the following year.

The war has led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and left millions hungry and destitute.

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Rating: 3.5/5

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Company profile

Company name: Dharma

Date started: 2018

Founders: Charaf El Mansouri, Nisma Benani, Leah Howe

Based: Abu Dhabi

Sector: TravelTech

Funding stage: Pre-series A 

Investors: Convivialite Ventures, BY Partners, Shorooq Partners, L& Ventures, Flat6Labs

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
  • The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
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UAE SQUAD

UAE team
1. Chris Jones-Griffiths 2. Gio Fourie 3. Craig Nutt 4. Daniel Perry 5. Isaac Porter 6. Matt Mills 7. Hamish Anderson 8. Jaen Botes 9. Barry Dwyer 10. Luke Stevenson (captain) 11. Sean Carey 12. Andrew Powell 13. Saki Naisau 14. Thinus Steyn 15. Matt Richards

Replacements
16. Lukas Waddington 17. Murray Reason 18. Ahmed Moosa 19. Stephen Ferguson 20. Sean Stevens 21. Ed Armitage 22. Kini Natuna 23. Majid Al Balooshi

How to help

Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send "thenational" to the following numbers:

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Azhar Ali (capt), Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Abbas, Yasir Shah, Usman Shinwari

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Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

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  • Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
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CAF Champions League semi-finals first-leg fixtures

Tuesday:

Primeiro Agosto (ANG) v Esperance (TUN) (8pm UAE)
Al Ahly (EGY) v Entente Setif (ALG) (11PM)

Second legs:

October 23

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ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile

Started: 2016

Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel 

Based: Ramallah, Palestine

Sector: Technology, Security

# of staff: 13

Investment: $745,000

Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors

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Price, base / as tested Dh1,470,000 (est)
Engine 6.9-litre twin-turbo W12
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 626bhp @ 6,000rpm
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Fuel economy, combined 14.0L / 100km

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Power: 819hp

Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm

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UK-EU trade at a glance

EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years

Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products

Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries

Smoother border management with use of e-gates

Cutting red tape on import and export of food

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Updated: June 14, 2022, 10:58 PM`