Saudi-led coalition announces a 48-hour truce in Yemen
A Saudi-led military coalition will start a 48-hour ceasefire in Yemen’s war at noon (0900 GMT) on Saturday in the latest effort to end a conflict that has displaced millions and caused a worsening humanitarian disaster.
The coalition has been fighting Houthi rebels and forces loyal to Yemen’s former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, since March 2015 to restore to power the internationally backed President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who was overthrown by the Houthis in 2014.
The war has killed more than 10,000 people, according to U.N. estimates, and has worsened disease and hunger.
Saturday’s truce, the third announced this year, could be extended if the Iran-aligned Houthi movement shows commitment to it and if the group allows humanitarian aid into areas under siege, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
Several efforts by the UN to negotiate an end to the war have failed, including a three-day October ceasefire that fell apart as soon as it went into force.
Houthi officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
“The truce will be renewed if the Houthis adhere to it, include its representatives in the DCC (De-escalation and Coordination Committee) for Dhahran al-Janoub, and lift the siege on Taiz,” SPA said, citing a letter sent from Yemen’s president Hadi to Saudi King Salman.
The DCC is a United Nations-backed military commission responsible for overseeing ceasefires in Yemen.
Dhahran al-Janoub in southern Saudi Arabia has been attacked by Houthi forces in cross-border missile raids.
Hadi’s exiled government has been requesting humanitarian access for Taiz, a divided city ringed by mountains and largely encircled by the Houthis.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said earlier this week that the coalition and Houthis had agreed on a ceasefire but Hadi’s government rejected the move, complaining that it had been being bypassed.
The Houthis said on Wednesday they were ready to stop fighting and join a national unity government.
STALEMATE
Any “military movements” by Houthi forces will be “addressed by the coalition”, which will continue to place controls on access to Yemen, the SPA statement said. The coalition restricts air, sea and land access to the country to prevent the Houthis from obtaining arms.
Air strikes by Saudi Arabia and the near-blockade on Yemen, which imports over 90 percent of its staple foods, have caused food prices to soar, making it impossible for Yemenis to afford food to feed themselves and their families.
After months of bombings and other attacks, no side has emerged as the dominant force in a war that has dragged into stalemate, displaced more than three million people and given room for a powerful branch of al Qaeda to expand its operations.
The frontline has changed little over the past few months with the Houthis and their allies holding most of Yemen’s northern half including the capital Sanaa, while forces loyal to the Saudi-backed Hadi share control of the rest of the country with local tribes.
Hadi’s government says the Houthis have illegally seized power in a coup backed by Iran, and demands that they quit the cities they have seized and hand over heavy weapons before any political settlement starts.
The Houthis say they seized power to end corruption and to get rid of Islamist militants they say had expanded their influence during Hadi’s presidency.
Source: Reuters
