 The UN-sponsored ceasefire in Yemen was extended for two more months on Thursday, June 2. The announcement was made by the UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Gunberg. The ceasefire, which began on April 2, took coincide with Ramadan and was scheduled to expire on June 2, was the first ceasefire since the war began in 2015. The two warring parties, the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition, agreed for the extension of the truce despite complaining about the other not adhering to basic provisions of the previous agreement. When the truce was announced, the Saudi-led coalition had agreed to, number one, partially lift the blockade on Houthi-controlled areas, number two, allow two flights per week from Sanaa International Airport, number three, allow the partial opening of the Houthida port, and number four, stop all military exercises. In return, Houthis had agreed to lift the siege of Thais city in the country's southwest. During the past two months, the Houthis said the Saudi-led coalition delayed lifting of the blockade from Sanaa International Airport. They also complained about the continued air raids and shelling by the coalition forces. The Saudi Arabia-led coalition was unhappy about the Houthis' refusal to lift the siege of Thais. Talks last week over the issue of Thais took place in Jordan's capital, Amman. However, the talks were inconclusive, leading to an intervention by Grunberg. Despite all these issues, the ceasefire saw a reduction in casualties. The war in Yemen led to what the UN called the worst humanitarian disaster of the century. It escalated in 2015 after the Saudi-led coalition intervened in favour of Abdrabu Mansour Hadi, who had been overthrown by the Houthis the previous year. As we all know, the ceasefire came into existence for the first time in April. And in the last two months, it has provided crucial relief to the millions of Yemeni people. They have seen less violent activities, less number of casualty due to the war and a greater freedom of movement, not only within the country but across outside the country as well. The large number of Yemeni people have been able to use the lifting of the blockade from the Sanaa International Airport to travel outside the country and meet their families and friends and to get access to the crucial treatment they have denied all these years. So, it is hoped that if the ceasefire is extended for the next two months, both the parties will have enough opportunity to kind of address major issues, which are the Saudi coalition-led blockade of the country and the seas of the Thai city in the southwest of Yemen by the Houthis. If both the parties have been able to address these issues, this will provide a crucial boost to the peace measures in the country. The UN has estimated that over 370,000 people died due to the war. The UN has also said that two-thirds of the population requires humanitarian assistance. Nearly 15,000 civilians have been killed by direct military action, most of them in airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition, according to the campaign against arms trade. The campaign also estimated near 9,000 or 60% of civilian deaths due to direct military action from over 7,000 separate incidents were caused by airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition. The Saudi-led coalition was supported by its allies, including the US and the UK. There have been strong campaigns in these countries to stop the support for Saudi Arabia and its allies, such as the UAE.