SANAA, Yemen
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced on Thursday that all political parties in Yemen have committed to a humanitarian truce starting Friday, a measure expected to last until the end of Ramadan.
Earlier on Thursday, Ismail Al-Shiekh, the UN envoy to Yemen, said a humanitarian truce will begin in the war-torn country in the next 24 hours.
“We wrapped up the third visit to Sanaa with some cautious optimism,” Shiekh said before departing from Sanaa International Airport. “In the next 24 hours, we will announce a humanitarian truce.”
Shiekh told the country’s official news agency, which is currently controlled by the Houthis, that the UN is working with both Riyadh and Sanaa to find a solution to the ongoing conflict, adding that there is “great optimism” that a humanitarian truce will happen soon.
“What hurts us the most is that the greatest loser, as a result of the war, are the Yemeni people,” Shiekh added.
Yemen has remained in chaos since last September, when the Shia Houthi militant group overran Sanaa.
