On 1 April 2022, a
two month truce came into effect between the two main warring parties - the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels on one side, and the Saudi-led coalition-backed forces, including the Yemeni government, on the other (United Nations News, 1 April 2022). This truce has made it possible for Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi,‚ the former field marshal of the Yemeni armed forces who has served as president since 2012, to officially hand over his duties to an eight-member
presidential council at a ceremony on 19 April 2022 in Aden, which is serving as the temporary capital city (Al-Jazeera, 19 April 2022). A country expert quoted by Al-Jazeera sees this as a major step forward to have the government return to Yemeni soil after years of exile in Saudi Arabia. He stated further: "The key priorities moving forward will ultimately be to improve service provision, and to work to improve the tentative progress towards stabilization."
World Watch Research analyst Henriette Kats comments: "The treaty between the two warring parties and the installation of the presidential council looks promising for a better future. Rashad al-Alimi, who formerly served as deputy prime minister and minister of interior and now chairs the new council, has promised to work to end the war, prioritize economic stability and to alleviate the humanitarian crisis. However, many Yemenis have reacted with caution: The situation is still very uncertain and it is hoped that the ceasefire lasts long enough for sufficient quantities of much-needed aid to reach the ailing Yemeni population."
Henriette Kats continues: "The population in Yemen is over 99% Islamic and the majority of local NGO employees are Muslim. International NGOs also depend on Muslim workers, often neighbor-hood/tribal leaders, for the distribution of emergency relief supplies. Christians with a Muslim background seeking emergency supplies are vulnerable to discrimination and mistreatment, if their faith is known. Their names can be removed from distribution lists, especially if help is being given out through local mosques where it can be checked whether someone is a good Muslim or not (based on mosque attendance)."
Henriette Kats adds: "The distribution of humanitarian aid is often limited to the larger cities, which has caused large numbers of people to move to those cities, many having to live on the streets. This means there is no privacy and local church gatherings struggle with attracting unwanted attention. Thus, the way emergency aid is distributed poses multiple challenges for Yemeni Christians."
