Sana, Yemen: The first commercial flight in six years took off from Yemen’s rebel-held capital on Monday, officials said, part of a delicate conflict in the county’s peace civil war.
Yemen Airways The flight, with 151 passengers, was bound for JordanAccording to media outlets operated by the capital of Amman, Iran-backed Houthi the rebels
Before that, the plane had arrived sana To pick up passengers. It was not clear where the plane had come from. At touchdown, the aircraft was greeted by a ceremonial “water salute”, according to a video posted online by the national carrier.
The flight is part of a UN-brokered, 60-day ceasefire agreement struck last month by the internationally recognized government and Houthi rebels. The ceasefire, which came into force on April 2, is the first nationwide ceasefire in Yemen in six years.
The truce agreement calls for two commercial flights a week from Sanaa to Jordan and Egypt. Houthi-held Sanaa has been blocked by a Saudi-led coalition, which backs the internationally recognized government.
The flight was initially scheduled to take off on 2 April, but the departure date was delayed due to a dispute over passports issued by the Houthis. This time, the internationally recognized government allowed passengers with Houthi-issued documents to board the flight.
The fragile ceasefire comes amid concerted international and regional efforts to find a solution to the conflict that has ravaged the Arab world’s poorest country and pushed it to the brink of famine.
Yemen’s civil war erupted in 2014, when the Houthis captured the capital Sanaa and threw the government into exile. The Saudi-led coalition entered the war in early 2015 to try to restore the government to power.
Yemen Airways The flight, with 151 passengers, was bound for JordanAccording to media outlets operated by the capital of Amman, Iran-backed Houthi the rebels
Before that, the plane had arrived sana To pick up passengers. It was not clear where the plane had come from. At touchdown, the aircraft was greeted by a ceremonial “water salute”, according to a video posted online by the national carrier.
The flight is part of a UN-brokered, 60-day ceasefire agreement struck last month by the internationally recognized government and Houthi rebels. The ceasefire, which came into force on April 2, is the first nationwide ceasefire in Yemen in six years.
The truce agreement calls for two commercial flights a week from Sanaa to Jordan and Egypt. Houthi-held Sanaa has been blocked by a Saudi-led coalition, which backs the internationally recognized government.
The flight was initially scheduled to take off on 2 April, but the departure date was delayed due to a dispute over passports issued by the Houthis. This time, the internationally recognized government allowed passengers with Houthi-issued documents to board the flight.
The fragile ceasefire comes amid concerted international and regional efforts to find a solution to the conflict that has ravaged the Arab world’s poorest country and pushed it to the brink of famine.
Yemen’s civil war erupted in 2014, when the Houthis captured the capital Sanaa and threw the government into exile. The Saudi-led coalition entered the war in early 2015 to try to restore the government to power.