Houthi rebels mull extending UN-brokered truce in Yemen

Rebels "will consider the request for an extension of the truce, which ends on June 2," says Saba news agency, which is affiliated with the Houthis.

More than 150,000 people have died in Yemen's war and millions have been displaced, the UN says.
AP

More than 150,000 people have died in Yemen's war and millions have been displaced, the UN says.

Yemen's Houthi rebels have said they are considering renewing a UN-brokered truce with the government which expires in two weeks.

The Houthis' "Supreme Political Council will consider the request for an extension of the truce, which ends on June 2," the rebels' Saba news agency said on Wednesday.

The report comes a day after the UN envoy, Hans Grundberg, said he was continuing to "engage the parties to overcome outstanding challenges and to ensure the extension of the truce".

The two-month ceasefire, which went into effect on April 2, coinciding with the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, has made a "considerable positive impact on the daily lives of many Yemenis," Grundberg said.

But he added that he was seeing unconfirmed reports of continuing armed clashes that were causing civilian casualties.

READ MORE: Saudi coalition releases Yemeni prisoners as part of truce deal

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Thousands killed

According to United Nations figures, more than 150,000 people have died in Yemen's war and millions have been displaced.

The conflict pits Yemen's Saudi-supported government, officially based in the southern port of Aden, against the Iran-backed Houthis.

The Houthis seized the capital Sanaa in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention the following year and igniting a war that has caused what the United Nations terms the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

As part of the truce, the first commercial flight in nearly six years took off from Yemen's rebel-held capital on Monday.

READ MORE: Yemen war sides fail to operate first commercial flight as part of truce

Route 6