Yemen's Houthis say ready to reopen vital road between Taiz, Aden after 10-year closure

SANAA, Yemen / ISTANBUL 

The Houthi group said Monday that it is ready to open a vital road between the central city of Taiz and Aden in southern Yemen after ten years of closure.

Speaking after touring the Sanaa-Aden road, Houthi government member Mohammed Miftah called for the opening of the Al-Rahida-Al-Sharija road that links Taiz city to Aden.

“For our part, we are ready to open the road and to repair the Aqan Bridge in Rasad valley,” he said.

There was no immediate comment from the Yemeni government, but it had previously said it was ready to open all blocked roads across the country.

The Houthi initiative came a day after UN envoy Hans Grundberg called on the Yemeni government and Houthis to reopen more roads in the war-torn country.

On Thursday, the government reopened a vital road in Al-Dhalea province linking Sanaa to Aden after seven years of closure.

Yemen has seen a relative state of calm since April 2022, following a truce that halted hostilities between Yemeni government forces and the Houthi group that erupted in September 2014 when the Iran-aligned group seized the capital, Sanaa.

The war has claimed over 150,000 lives and has led to one of the worst humanitarian crises globally, resulting in tens of thousands of additional deaths.