Head of Yemen presidential council promises to end war News
© WikiMedia (Fahd Sadi)
Head of Yemen presidential council promises to end war

Rashad Al-Alimi, head of Yemen’s new presidential council, gave a speech Friday where he promised to end the current war by using a peaceful process.

This promise comes after President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi stepped down on Thursday. Upon stepping down, Hadi transferred his presidential powers in hopes of ending the war. Saudi Arabia also encouraged the presidential council to end the war with UN-led negotiations.

During the speech, Rashad Al-Alimi stated that the council promises to “end the war and achieve peace” by engaging in a  peace process that will provide the people of Yemen “all its aspirations.” The Saudi Arabian city of Riyadh has also suggested that the council engage in negotiations with the Houthis “for a final and comprehensive solution.”

On Thursday, the Houthi chief negotiator, Mohammed Abdulsalam, stated that he does not believe the formation of the council was done with intentions to end the war. Abdulsalam called the formation of the council a farce and “desperate attempt to restructure the ranks of mercenaries to push them towards further escalation.”

The seven-year-long war between Yemen and Saudi Arabia has killed  thousands and adversely impacted the people of Yemen. On March 26, UN Secretary-General António Guterres denounced attacks on civilian facilities in Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Earlier in March, UN agency chiefs said that war-torn Yemen’s hunger crisis is “teetering on the edge of outright catastrophe” with more than 17.4 million Yemenis facing food insecurity and an additional 1.6 million expected to fall into emergency levels of hunger.

However, both sides agreed to a temporary cease-fire for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. This cease fire began last Saturday.

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