By: Zakarya Al-Sharabi
When the UN envoy announced the armistice entry into force of a two-month between Sana’a and the coalition, there was a question whether this truce could work and extended, then it will be a gateway to lasting peace in Yemen and the region, but after 37 days of this truce, the question has become: Will the truce stand up for the remainder of its term? and what is the response that Sana’a prepared after the coalition violated the most important terms of the agreement, by its continued ban on Sana’a airport, and the detention of oil derivatives ships, in addition to this, the flight of combat spy planes, and other violations.
Observers believe that the coalition needed the armistice to rearrange its ranks politically and militarily. This demonstrated by the overthrow of Hadi and the formation of a leadership council headed by Rashad Al-Alimi. It is a step to unite the factions loyal to him in return for Sana’a, the armistice was also a need for Saudi Arabia in particular to protect its oil and other vital facilities, after Sana’a kicked off operations to break the siege, which caused severe damage to Riyadh, this need is shared by Riyadh and Washington, which pushed for the armistice, in light of its urgent need for fuel exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.
Sana’a also needed the armistice to prove its seriousness for peace, despite the coalition’s violation for the most important conditions Sana’a affirms through the Minister of Defense, Major General Muhammad Nasser al-Atifi, that “the commitment to the truce, despite its violation by the coalition, comes to miss the opportunity for war merchants and to serve the higher interests of Yemen and its people.” However, Sana’a confirms that the facts of the new political scenario of the coalition are a clear picture that it has no intention of peace,” according to the brigadier, Alatifi brigade.
But Sana’a’s patience with the coalition’s violations of the armistice may not last until the end of its life, which is about to expire, two-thirds of it. The persistence of these violations, according to the head of the negotiating delegation, Mohamed Abdel Salam, would undermine the truce, and whether the truce was completely undermined before its end or Sana’a continued to abide by it until the end of May, no longer even the most optimists expected that the truce would be extended again, especially in light of the indications that the coalition is preparing for a military escalation on a number of fronts.
Whether this escalation occurs or not, it does not seem that Sana’a will agree to the extension of the armistice, unless the coalition rectifies the situation during the remaining days, and unless it does so, the aftermath of the armistice will not be the same as before it, because it is, as the spokesman for Sana’a forces, Brigadier Yahya Saree’ describes, “a defining moment in history.” Either the coalition of aggression shows its sincere intention for peace and its seriousness in implementing the armistice first, entering it to end the aggression and siege, secondly, the exit of foreign forces or to renege as its habit.
Sana’a hopes the coalition will choose the first option, “to show goodwill, save themselves from what awaits them, if their hidden intentions were cunning and deceit, because they will only gain from that defeat and clear loss.” According to a statement by the Minister of Defense in Sana’a.
Read also: 12 patients have died since the start of the truce due to the coalition’s continued closure of Sana’a International Airport.
Therefore, Sana’a operations may return to break the siege, Aramco fires, which lasted more than 24 hours in Jeddah last March, may seem, simple in front of the upcoming fires, according to observers’ expectations.
