Saudi-led coalition lifts import restrictions on Yemen as peace talks continue

Middle East, News April 8, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

The Saudi Arabian-led military coalition has lifted import restrictions on Yemen that had been in place for more than eight years. The move would increase the flow of goods in Yemeni ports indicating a possible peace between Saudi Arabi and Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

Yemen is currently being governed by a Saudi-backed administration in the south. According to government sources, commercial ships have been allowed to dock directly at the southern ports in Yemen, including Aden. Due to the imposed restriction, all the ships headed to the ports in Yemen would dock at the Saudi Arabian Red Sea port of Jeddah for security checks before heading to Yemen.

Deputy head of Yemen’s Chamber of Commerce Abu Bakr Adeed announced that as a result of the removal of import restrictions, more than 500 goods, including fertilizers and batteries, would be allowed to come directly to Yemen’s southern ports. These goods had been previously restricted by the Saudi-led coalition from arriving directly in Yemen. The Saudi government is yet to make a comment on the removal of import restrictions.

Yemen has been facing a war crisis since 2014, which started when the Houthi rebels incited insurgency all around the country taking control of most of the northern region including the capital Sanaa. This forced many Yemenis to flee to the south of the country or Saudi Arabia.

In 2015, Saudi Arabia formed a military alliance to act against the uprising in Yemen and entered the country in March 2015. The Saudi-led military coalition was also backed by the U.S. and their motive was aimed to restore the former Yemeni government and President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi into power.

The conflict in Yemen has caused one of the largest humanitarian crises in recent times. In 2022, the United Nations warned that more than 8 million Yemenis are under a dire threat of poverty and hunger caused by the ongoing military crisis in the country.

^{Young boys standing in front of damaged buildings in Saada, Yemen, where the bombing has left many neighborhoods in the city strewn with wreckage and debris following ground fighting between armed groups. (Image Credit: WFP/Jonathan Dumont)}

The armed conflict between the Saudi-backed government and Iran-backed Houthi rebels is regarded as a proxy war between the two regional rivals. However, as Iran and Saudi Arabia grow closer to each other as a result of China’s mediation, a diplomatic solution for the Yemen crisis also seems possible.

According to some sources, a Saudi-Omani delegation is planning to travel to Yemen’s capital Sanaa next week to hash out a permanent ceasefire deal with Houthi officials and end the country’s eight-year conflict. If an agreement is reached, Yemen’s warring parties could announce an agreement before the end of April 2023 to finally restore sustainable peace in the country.