• Home
• /
• Opinion

Respect the truce accord in Yemen

Yemen cannot afford to move on like this, as more than 3,000 people have died and the impoverished nation is now in ruins.

Yemen is in desperate need of a ceasefire. It is quite unfortunate that a United Nations-brokered truce broke shortly after coming into force on Friday night. This speaks high of vested interests at work and the fact that there is something seriously amiss. If the world body's estimates are any criterion, then the country is on the brink of disaster, as more than 80 per cent of Yemen's 25 million people need humanitarian aid.
The situation has further worsened due to a blockade of the war-torn country, as funnelling in food and medical supplies are next to impossible. Air strikes by the Saudi-led alliance have left little room for diplomacy to take roots. Similarly, the Houthis have messed up ground realities, as they are supported by Iran.
The million-dollar question is what's next? Yemen cannot afford to move on like this, as more than 3,000 people have died and the impoverished nation is now in ruins. The fighting in Yemen is directly impacting the peace and security prospects of the entire region. Riyadh and Tehran, who have direct stakes in the crisis, have to look at the bigger picture and formulate a strategy that would bring in calm. For that to happen, an instant ceasefire is indispensable so that humanitarian aid could resume, and the task of nation-building be initiated. Rehabilitating the displaced will take a longer time than estimated as it is directly linked to normalising the situation in the socio-economic realms.
Yemen's is a political problem and that cannot be solved on the war front. The most alarming factor is that continuing instability in Yemen could provide Al Qaeda and Daesh with an opportunity to consolidate their gains. This new disorder would also adversely impact navigational routes that pass by the strife-torn country. Restoring order in Yemen is sine qua non for saving regional and global peace.