Yemeni army and Houthi militias accuse each other of truce violations in Yemen

The Yemeni government and the Houthi rebels continue to accuse each other of violating the truce established on 2 April, the longest so far since the beginning of the war. This truce established by the UN has not been respected by either of the warring parties, which continue to carry out continuous attacks with drones and artillery fire.

The Yemeni army has claimed that the Houthis have violated this truce more than 4,276 times by mobilising fighters and launching drone and missile attacks, even as the militia indicated it accepted its renewal. These attacks, the Yemeni Defence says, have been carried out against government forces in Marib, Taiz, Saada and Hajjaj. "The Houthis are defying the truce and international resolutions. They have adhered to the truce," Abdu Abdullah Majili, a general and spokesman for the Yemeni army, told the Arab News portal.

However, according to the Houthis, the Yemeni army has not stopped carrying out attacks during the truce either. So much so that this morning the militia has denounced the shooting down of a drone belonging to government forces that has left at least three dead in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa. 

These accusations come as the UN special envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, has pressed both the government and the militias to extend the truce and implement its unfulfilled components, including the opening of roads in Taiz. 

In the face of these pressures from Grundberg, both sides, despite the truce's non-compliance, have shown their approval of the UN special envoy's request. "We affirm that we are not against extending the truce, but what is not possible is the acceptance of any truce in which the suffering of our people continues," said the head of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, Mahdi al-Mshat. For his part, the head of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council Rashad al-Alimi expressed support for the current efforts of international mediators to extend the war. 

However, the government is wasting no time. Yemen's Defence Minister Mohammed al-Maqdashi met on Thursday with Colonel Mark Rittman, the US military and security attaché at the US embassy in Yemen. The two representatives discussed how best to "confront terrorism", as well as military and security cooperation between the two nations along with the UK.

In the face of this difficult situation to achieve a period of peace and stability, several activists and human rights organisations have intensified their campaigns on the ground and on social media, showing the serious consequences of truce violations, especially after the Houthi siege in Taiz.