UN welcomes Oman-mediated ceasefire between Yemen's Houthis, US

By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA)— The UN on Wednesday welcomed an Oman-mediated ceasefire between Yemen's Houthi group and the US to end attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea.

Hailing Oman's efforts on the ceasefire, spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay reminded at a news conference that the UN has "consistently called for restraint and the de-escalation in and around Yemen and the wider region."

She reiterated the UN's call for the Houthi group to end its attacks on commercial vessels, saying: "We reaffirm the need for all to respect the rights and obligations relating to maritime navigation in accordance with international law."

"We remain committed to supporting the Yemeni parties to reach a negotiated political settlement to end the conflict," she noted.

Yemen has faced an intensified US military campaign since mid-March, including around 1,300 air and naval strikes, resulting in hundreds of civilian casualties, according to the Houthis.

The group has targeted ships passing through the Red and Arabian seas, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden since November 2023 in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where more than 52,600 people have been killed, most of them women and children, during Israel’s indiscriminate war.

The group halted attacks when a Gaza ceasefire was declared in January between Israel and Hamas but resumed them after Israel's renewed airstrikes on Gaza in March.