Yemen’s warring parties agree to establish coordination mechanism

ANKARA (AA) – Yemen’s warring sides have agreed to launch a coordination room to help pave the way for bringing the country’s seven-year war to a close.

Military representatives from the Yemeni government, the Coalition Joint Forces Command and the Houthis were gathered in Jordan’s capital Amman by the Office of the Special Envoy for Yemen as part of the second meeting of the parties’ military coordination committee.

In addition to establishing a joint coordination mechanism, the parties also agreed to nominate focal points for the coordination room within a week to ensure regular communication.

On Thursday, the UN envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg said Yemen’s warring rivals agreed to extend the current truce for two additional months.

Under the truce, which was first reached on April 2, all military operations were halted. The agreement also allowed the operation of commercial flights from rebel-held Sanaa Airport in the Yemeni capital.

Yemen has been engulfed by violence and instability since September 2014, when Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

The Saudi-led coalition entered the war in early 2015 to restore the Yemeni government to power. The seven-year conflict has created one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with millions suffering from hunger.