In Yemen, the Houthi rebels and the government have not been able to reach an agreement on extending the ceasefire.
The UN Special Envoy expressed regret that the ceasefire was not extended. He called on the parties to exercise restraint. The diplomat said that the truce made life of Yemenis much easier.
International humanitarian agencies have criticised the failure to renew the cease fire agreement which expired on Sunday (2 October). Erin Hutchinson, the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Country Director in Yemen, said "today’s announcement that an agreement to renew the truce in Yemen has not been reached is deeply disappointing. It is a missed opportunity to help millions of Yemeni civilians out of the brutal conflict that the warring parties have dug the country into. We call on the parties to the conflict to reconsider, refrain from pulling the trigger, put aside their differences, and extend the arm of diplomacy as they have done successfully for the last six months. Indeed, the last two months have shown that solutions are within sight when they agree to focus on them, instead of the fighting.”
Earlier, the internationally recognised government of Yemen said it was willing to renew the truce despite the fact it had some reservations on its provisions.
In a seperate development rebel Houthi forces stated on Sunday that they may renew their attacks on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
