Yemen’s Houthi rebel group said on Saturday it would suspend missile and drone attacks in Saudi Arabia for three days.
The move came a day after the group claimed responsibility for an attack on a refinery in Saudi Arabia, which is about 10 km from where an F1 race is taking place this Sunday.
According to the Houthis, the initiative could become a lasting commitment if the Saudi-led coalition operating in Yemen stops airstrikes and port restrictions.
Yemenis at the site of air strikes carried out by the Saudi-led coalition, responsible for the deaths of eight people.
The announcement also mentions the suspension of ground offensives in Yemen for three days, including in the gas-producing region of Marib, Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the Houthis’ political department, said in a televised speech.
“This is a heartfelt signal accompanied by practical steps to rebuild trust and move all sides from the arena of negotiations to the arena of action,” said Mashat, who also added that the group was ready to release prisoners, including the president’s brother. of Yemen, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
The unilateral move comes as the war between the Iran-aligned rebel group and the Saudi-led coalition enters its eighth year, with violence worsening in recent months. The conflict killed tens of thousands of people, most of them civilians, and left millions facing hunger and disease.
At the same time, the United Nations is also trying to secure a temporary truce to embrace the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins in April.
On Saturday, the Riyadh-led coalition carried out air strikes on the Houthis-controlled sea ports of Hodeidah and Salif, a day after the group launched attacks on Saudi Arabia – including on an oil facility in Jeddah, causing a massive fire.
The oil refinery targeted by the attack belongs to Saudi Aramco, the main sponsor of the Saudi Arabian F1 GP. The rocket and drone attack caused a fire at the facility, which is about 10 km from the Jeddah circuit, the venue for this weekend’s race and from where it was possible to see a cloud of smoke spreading in the city’s sky.
According to BBC Sport, a significant number of pilots conducting practice were concerned about the safety of the event after the attack.
Last year, the Saudi-led coalition offered a unilateral ceasefire, which the Houthis rejected on the grounds that the humanitarian situation and the reopening of ports needed to be addressed before any peace talks.
The Yemen war is seen as a proxy battle between Saudi Arabia, a Sunni Muslim country, and Shiite Iran. The Riyadh-led coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after the Houthis overthrew the Saudi-backed government.
The rebels, meanwhile, say they are fighting a corrupt system and foreign aggression.
Yemen’s civil war has left more than 10,000 Yemeni children dead or maimed, according to UNICEF (the UN Children’s Fund).
