Is Yemen finally on the road to peace?
Weeks of U.N. shuttle diplomacy and Western pressure
delivered a breakthrough in Yemen peace efforts when the warring parties last
week agreed to cease fighting in a contested Red Sea port city and withdraw
forces.
The challenge lies in securing an orderly troop
withdrawal from Hodeidah, a lifeline for millions of Yemenis facing starvation,
amid deep mistrust among the parties.
At the same time, the United Nations must prepare
for critical discussions on a wider truce and a framework for political
negotiations to end the conflict.
The nearly four-year-old war, which has killed tens
of thousands of people, pits the Iran-aligned Houthi group against other Yemeni
factions fighting alongside the Saudi-led coalition trying to restore the
government of Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
The Houthis, who ousted Hadi’s administration from
the capital Sanaa in 2014, and their coalition foes are due to start
implementing the Hodeidah ceasefire on Tuesday.
Coalition leaders Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
Emirates are under pressure from Western allies including the United States and
Britain, which supply arms and intelligence to the Sunni Muslim alliance, to
end the war as Riyadh comes under scrutiny after the murder of Saudi journalist
Jamal Khashoggi.
