Aden (South24)

Suspicion flies over the fate of the UN proposal to extend and expand the humanitarian truce in Yemen, a few hours before the official end of this six-month truce.

The Houthis' official spokesman and head of their negotiating delegation Mohammad Abd al-Salam denied today that they had agreed to extend the truce. "South24 Center" obtained information from a high-ranking source that the Yemeni parties had agreed to the updated proposal to extend the truce for a period of six months.

The source indicated that Yemen's Presidential Council informed the UN Envoy of its approval of the updated truce proposal, and warned from the Houthis' lack of seriousness. According to the source, Grundberg told the PLC that the Houthis had approved the proposal.

Meanwhile, the PLC Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi met the UN envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, in the Saudi capital city Riyadh, to discuss developments in the updated truce agreement, according to Saba Agency.

The Supreme Political Council of the Houthis, in Sanaa, also held a meeting to discuss the developments and the path of the truce in force, according to Houthi media. Al-Masirah TV quoted the Houthis' Political Council as saying: "We condemn the United Nations' proposal for a paper that does not meet the demands and does not establish peace."

The Houthi Political Council announced that it was studying "various options to deal with the new phase." The senior source described these statements as "a regression and a disregard for international efforts."

The Supreme Economic Committee of the Houthis said that it had received instructions from the Houthis' Political Council to send warnings to the oil and shipping companies to stop working, starting at 6:00 pm on Sunday.

The Houthis insist that the Yemeni government pay the salaries of employees working in areas under their control and not open the main roads in Taiz and elsewhere.

The head of the Houthi negotiating delegation Mohammad Abd al-Salam said in a statement that the negotiations to extend the truce, which is about to expire, "reached a dead end."

The group's military spokesman Yahya Saree warned the oil and shipping companies that have destinations in the Arab Coalition state or those operating domestically from "ignoring the instructions that will be issued in the coming hours."

Late yesterday evening, the Russian embassy in Yemen expressed its concern "over the lack of any progress regarding the extension of the truce in Yemen." The Chargé d'Affairs said: "There is no military solution to the conflict in Yemen."

The US ambassador also expressed Washington's concern about "the lack of progress in securing the extension of the truce in Yemen." The ambassador called on "the parties not to squander the progress of the past six months." The US Secretary of State said he had called his Saudi counterpart "to welcome the Kingdom's support for the extension of the truce in Yemen."

In a statement, the European Union announced "full support for the call of the UN Secretary-General for the Yemeni parties to accept the proposal to extend the truce submitted by the UN Envoy."

Yesterday, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly called on the Houthis to engage constructively with the international efforts to mediate the truce extension.

He also accused the Houthis of continuing to endanger the truce negotiations and depriving Yemenis of a peaceful future, welcoming the Yemeni government's commitment to extending the truce if agreed upon.

In a statement published by the Houthis' Al-Masirah TV, the Houthi Foreign Affairs condemned the British statement, describing its language as "criminal and provocative."

Yesterday, the Yemeni government's Saba Agency published a statement from an official source saying that "the Yemeni government will deal positively with an updated proposal by the UN Special Envoy to extend and expand the truce, starting from October 2.

On Friday, UN Envoy Hans Grundberg concluded a visit to Sanaa, during which he met senior Houthi officials as part of the moves to reach an expanded truce agreement.

Grundberg's office said he had "intensive discussions in Sanaa on issues related to paying civil servants' salaries, issues related to ports and airports and keeping the front lines calm."

Grundberg stressed that "the renewal and expansion of the truce is a humanitarian and political necessity and an opportunity that cannot be missed." The Swedish diplomat warned that "if war returns, there may not be such an opportunity for a long time."