Fri - 13 May 2022 - 12:15 AM ،،،
Yemen's government has agreed to allow Houthi-issued passport holders to travel outside Yemen, three officials said on Thursday, removing a major obstacle that had stalled resumption of commercial flights from the capital Sanaa under a truce deal.
The two-month truce between a Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi group that runs the north went into effect on April 2 and has largely held. But resumption of select flights agreed under the U.N.-brokered deal did not proceed, risking derailing the first big breakthrough in peace efforts in years.
Yemen's internationally recognised government had insisted all passengers on a flight scheduled last month from Sanaa to Jordan carry government-issued passports in an apparent bid to prevent recognition of the Iran-aligned Houthis as the de facto authority in Sanaa, which they control.
The three Yemeni officials said that following talks with U.N. special envoy Hans Grundberg in Aden this week, the Saudi-backed authorities agreed to allow holders of Houthi-issued passports to board flights.
The first flight could operate as soon as next week, said the officials, who requested anonymity as the decision had not been made public.
With Reuters
