Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreed by Yemen's Conflicting Sides – Russian Envoy

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) – The Yemeni government and Houthi rebels have agreed to temporarily halt fighting in order to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid to civilians, Russia’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vladimir Safronkov told RIA Novosti.

"A humanitarian pause should be announced in the coming days," Safonkov said, adding that the UN Security Council had repeatedly called on the Yemeni government to end military confrontation in the country as soon as possible.

Since early 2015, Yemen has been mired in violence sparked by fighting between Houthis, the country’s main opposition group, and government forces, backed by a Saudi-led coalition of Arab states, which has been launching airstrikes in Yemen.

According to the United Nations, some 3,000 Yemenis, half of them civilians, were killed in ongoing fighting in the past three months.

On Wednesday, the United Nations announced a level three (highest) humanitarian crisis in Yemen, stressing that over 80 percent of Yemenis are in need of life-saving assistance. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on the same day that the parties to Yemen's conflict should at least agree to pause hostilities until the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

In May, a 5-day humanitarian ceasefire was enforced in Yemen, which allowed the country’s residents to receive aid from various organizations including the United Nations.

The United Nations has been mediating talks between the Yemeni government and Houthis, a Shia insurgent group that captured the capital Sanaa in January, but no breakthroughs have been achieved so far.