The Arab League Secretary General Ahmad Aboul-Gheit on Sunday warned against failure to extend the truce in Yemen, saying, "Ending the truce would bring back the crisis." "The humanitarian situation in Yemen is very dangerous and is considered an urgent priority," Aboul-Gheit said in a statement. He called on the Houthis to put Yemen's sake into consideration and to get involved in positive efforts to extend the truce in order to ease the living situation for the Yemeni people. Aboul-Gheit also welcomed at the same time the regional and international parties' efforts to extend the truce and Yemen's government statement that affirmed its willingness to extend the truce. "It is very important to extend the truce for a longer time to allow the Yemeni people to catch their breaths, and have also contributed in decreasing violence and facilitated the situation for the international community to provide aid," he added. Meanwhile, on Friday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said it was time for government forces and their allies, together with Houthi rebels and their international backers, to "choose peace for good." "Yemen's warring parties who have sustained a nationwide truce for the past six months, need to prioritize the ;needs and aspirations; of the people, by both extending and expanding it, beyond Sunday's imminent deadline," he said. The hiatus since April 2, has been twice renewed, providing the longest period of relative calm since the beginning of the intensified conflict, in 2015, Guterres said. In a statement calling for the truce to be expanded earlier this month, the Security Council said casualties were down 60 percent since it began. "I strongly urge the Yemeni parties not only to renew but also to expand the truce's terms and duration, in line with the proposal presented to them by my Special Envoy, Hans Grundberg." In a tweet on Thursday, Grundberg said he had held "intense discussions" in the capital this week, and said renewal and expansion was a "humanitarian imperative and a political necessity." Guterres strongly urged all those involved in the long-running conflict, to seize this opportunity. "This is the moment to build on the gains achieved and embark on a path towards the resumption of an inclusive and comprehensive political process, to reach a negotiated settlement to end the conflict. The United Nations will spare no efforts to support the parties in this endeavor." — Agencies
