Sanaa: Yemen's Houthi group has announced its preparedness to reopen a crucial road connecting the central city of Taiz with Aden in the south, following a ten-year closure. The declaration was made on Monday, marking a significant development in the region's ongoing efforts to restore connectivity and ease transportation.
According to Anadolu Agency, the statement was delivered by Houthi government official Mohammed Miftah during a visit to the Sanaa-Aden road. Miftah emphasized the group's willingness to open the Al-Rahida-Al-Sharija road linking Taiz to Aden and pledged to undertake necessary repairs on the Aqan Bridge located in the Rasad valley.
The Yemeni government has yet to comment on this announcement. However, it had previously expressed readiness to reopen all obstructed roads throughout the country. The Houthi initiative closely follows a call from UN envoy Hans Grundberg, urging both the Yemeni government and the Houthis to work towards reopening more roads in the conflict-affected nation.
This development comes shortly after the Yemeni government reopened a critical road in Al-Dhalea province on Thursday, which connects Sanaa to Aden, after being shut for seven years. Yemen has experienced a relative period of calm since April 2022, following a truce that paused hostilities between government forces and the Houthis. The conflict, which began in September 2014 when the Iran-aligned Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, has resulted in over 150,000 fatalities and has exacerbated an already severe humanitarian crisis, causing tens of thousands of additional deaths.