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Published: 12:16, September 29, 2022 | Updated: 17:48, September 29, 2022
Yemeni govt receives UN proposal for 6-month truce extension
By Xinhua
Published:12:16, September 29, 2022 Updated:17:48, September 29, 2022 By Xinhua

Yemeni police inspect a site of airstrikes targeting two houses in Sanaa, Yemen, March 26, 2022. (HANI MOHAMMED / AP)

ADEN, YEMEN - The Saudi-backed Yemeni government has received a proposal from the United Nations suggesting renewing the ongoing truce for additional six months, an official told Xinhua on Wednesday.

The proposal from UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg also suggests expanding the truce to include the salary payment for all public employees across the war-ravaged Arab country and the opening of flights from Sanaa International Airport to five new destinations, the local government official said on condition of anonymity.

It also includes a full opening of the Red Sea port of Hodeidah to all oil derivatives shipments, he added.

ALSO READ: Yemen's Houthi rejects accusation of threatening ongoing truce

The Sanaa airport and the port of Hodeidah remain under the control of the Houthi group.

We are at a crossroads where the risk of a return to war is real and I am urging the parties to choose an alternative that prioritizes the needs of the Yemeni people

Hans Grundberg, UN Special Envoy for Yemen

The opening of some roads into the besieged city of Taiz and reopening blocked roads in other provinces are also part of the proposal, according to the official.

Earlier in the day, Grundberg arrived in Yemen's capital Sanaa to discuss with Houthi leaders the extension of the truce set to expire next week.

On Tuesday, the UN envoy urged the Yemeni parties to renew the truce and pave the way for a nationwide cease-fire and political settlement.

"We are at a crossroads where the risk of a return to war is real and I am urging the parties to choose an alternative that prioritizes the needs of the Yemeni people," Grundberg said in a statement hours before his arrival.

READ MORE: Houthi shells hit Yemen's Taiz as hopes of truce extension fade

Grundberg's visit came a day after he met with Houthi chief negotiator Mohammed Abdulsalam in Oman's capital Muscat.

During the meeting, Abdulsalam put forward the Houthi group's demands that the blockade on the Sanaa airport and Hodeidah port be "completely lifted" and "all civil servants (in the Houthi-held cities) paid," al-Masirah TV reported.

"Renewing the truce without implementing these demands would have no meaning," he noted.

Thousands of civil servants in the Houthi-controlled cities have not been paid for more than seven years.

READ MORE: Houthi top official: Group not against extending truce in Yemen

The truce between the Yemeni government and the Houthis went into force on April 2, and was later renewed twice through Oct 2.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of several northern cities and forced the Saudi-backed Yemeni government out of Sanaa.

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