Brussels, 10/07/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 10 July, the European Union hailed the one-week humanitarian truce decreed in Yemen and starting the same day - despite the persistence of fighting on the ground.
In a joint statement, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides said that this truce, which is due to last until the end of Ramadan on 17 July, “responds to the urgent need to allow humanitarian assistance and organisations to reach Yemenis in need without restrictions”. This is all the more “timely”, coming a week after the UN placed Yemen “at its highest level of humanitarian emergency” because of “a major food crisis looming for the 80% of Yemenis requiring assistance”, Mogherini and Stylianides stated.
The European Parliament had called for such a truce in a resolution adopted in Strasbourg on Thursday 9 July, and it asked the EU and its member states at the same time to work within the United Nations so that the provision of water might be guaranteed for Yemen. This is reportedly essential for paving the way to a potential peace process and for offering an outlook to the people by allowing them to improve agriculture, feed themselves and rebuild their country, MEPs stated. The European Parliament especially condemned the recruitment and use of child soldiers in Yemen.
According to news agency Reuters, the fighting and aerial bombing continued throughout Friday, despite the truce. The Houthi Shi-ite rebels bombed residential districts in Aden and continued to move forward in the Hadramaut desert. The Arab coalition, led by Saudi Arabia, conducted air strikes on the capital Sanaa. (Jan Kordys and Aminata Niang)