According to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Guterres praised Egypt’s decision to allow direct flights between Cairo and Sana’a, the Yemeni capital occupied by the Houthi militia.

Direct flights between the two cities had been halted for years due to the conflict.

Guterres thanked President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi for the decision, which is part of the UN-brokered truce in Yemen, the text noted.

For his part, Shoukry expressed his hope that this step will help consolidate the truce in the Arab country and alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people.

A two-month cessation of hostilities came into effect there on April 2 following the talks brokered by UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg.

The war in Yemen began in 2014, when Houthi rebels took up arms and occupied large swathes of the country, including Sana’a, its capital.

More than 23.4 million Yemenis, out of a total population of 31 million, need humanitarian assistance, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs recently revealed.

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