Yemeni rebels reject a Saudi ceasefire to mark the start of Ramadan

Yemeni rebels have rejected a Saudi ceasefire in the seven-year war imposed on Wednesday to mark the Muslim fasting and peacemaking month of Ramadan, which begins on Friday.

Saudi spokesman, Brig Gen Turki al-Malki, said the ceasefire was "within the context of international efforts and initiatives championed by the special envoy of the UN secretary-general for Yemen and the Saudi initiative to reach a comprehensive political resolution to end the Yemeni conflict".

The Saudi halt followed a three-day rebel Houthi ceasefire and proposal for extension if Riyadh fully lifts the blockade of Houthi-held ports and Sana'a airport.

Houthi official Mohammed al-Bukati tweeted: “If the blockade is not lifted, the [Saudi] declaration to stop its military operations will be meaningless because Yemenis suffer more severely from the blockade than the war”. Around 80 per cent of Yemen’s 30 million people live in Houthi-controlled areas.

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In addition to a ceasefire, the UN proposes that the Saudis allow fuel ships to dock at Houthi-controlled Hodeidah port and limited commercial flights at Sana’a airport. The Houthis have rejected these half measures.

The threat to Russian oil exports posed by the Ukraine war and sanctions has given fresh impetus to the Yemen peace process due to the need to ensure security for Saudi oil fields, refineries and shipping.

The Houthis have recently enhanced their targeting capabilities and last weekend unleashed a barrage of missiles and drones at strategic Saudi oil and other facilities. According to a regional oil expert, a dramatic cut in the flow of Saudi oil to the market would be “catastrophic” for the global economy.

The duelling ceasefires coincided with the opening of peace talks in Riyadh sponsored by the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation. Yemeni loyalist officials, tribal allies, and UN, US, and Gulf representatives are attending but the Houthis are boycotting as the venue is in Saudi Arabia.

It, along with the United Arab Emirates, intervened militarily in Yemen's civil war in 2015 to restore president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi who had been driven from Sana'a by the rebels.

Foreign elements

The Saudis and Emiratis expected a short, sharp campaign but encountered tough, experienced Houthi fighters who have repeatedly bested Saudi troops in battle.

While the Saudis continue to have command of the sky, the Emiratis withdrew ground troops in 2019. Since then, fighting has been between the Houthis and Saudi- and Emirati-trained and armed Yemeni militias bolstered by foreign elements.

While the US, UK and other Western countries have supplied the Saudis and Emiratis with billions of dollars worth of weaponry and services, Iran has provided the Houthis with diplomatic support and smuggled arms. These include advanced drones and missiles, which have given the Houthis the ability strike deep into Saudi Arabia and, on three recent occasions, the Emirates.

Saudi and Western determination to secure Saudi oil facilities, counter Houthi targeting and overcome the rebel boycott of Saudi talks could give the Houthis leverage to compel Riyadh to lift completely its sea and air blockade, the Houthis’s longstanding condition for negotiations. The conflict has killed 377,000 Yemenis, displaced four million, and rendered 45 per cent reliant on foreign food aid.