Egypt has agreed to allow direct flights between Sana’a and Cairo as part of the UN-brokered truce between Yemen’s internationally recognized government and the Houthi-led National Salvation Government (NSG) based in the capital.
“We express our deep thanks to the brotherly Egyptian government… for agreeing to operate direct flights between Sana’a and Cairo in accordance with the armistice agreement,” Foreign Minister of Aden government Ahmed Bin Mubarak wrote on Twitter yesterday.
“The competent authorities in the two countries will work in the coming days to coordinate and complete the technical procedures for operating the flights,” he added.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also called Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry to express his “sincere thanks… for allowing direct flights between Cairo and Sana’a within the framework of the UN armistice in Yemen,” according to a statement by the Egyptian foreign ministry.
As with the flight to Amman, patients in urgent need of medical attention are expected to be on board the flight among the Yemeni passengers. Baligh Al-Mekhlafi, the information counsellor at the Yemeni embassy in Cairo, told Arab News that thousands of Yemenis, mainly patients, will benefit from the resumption of flights, especially as Egypt is a top destination for Yemenis.
Tuesday, a senior official in the Sana’a government told the Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah TV that any extension of the truce depends on the continuation of ‘aggression’ by the Saudi-led coalition. Deputy Prime Minister Jalal Al-Ruwaishan said: “The National Salvation Government does not have to extend the truce as long as the suffering of the people continues.”
“Talking about the truce, what had been implemented is nothing and the Saudi coalition was not keen to abide by what was agreed to in the terms of truce,” he added.
