US calls for Yemen ceasefire and peace talks

WASHINGTON: The United States called for a ceasefire and peace talks in Yemen, as the Saudi-led military coalition sent more than 10,000 new troops toward a vital rebel-held port city ahead of a new assault.

Pentagon chief Jim Mattis said the US had been watching the conflict “for long enough”, adding that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which are in a US-backed coalition fighting Syiah Houthi rebels, are ready for talks.

“We have got to move toward a peace effort here, and we can’t say we are going to do it some time in the future,” Mattis said at the US Institute of Peace in Washington.

“We need to be doing this in the next 30 days.”

He said the US is calling for all warring parties to meet with United Nations special envoy Martin Griffiths in Sweden in November and “come to a solution”.

US-Saudi ties have cooled in recent weeks after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent critic of the conservative kingdom, that has also tarnished the image of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in the conflict between embattled Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, whose government is recognised by the United Nations, and the Houthis in 2015.

Nearly 10,000 people have since been killed and the country now stands at the brink of famine, with more than 22 million Yemenis – three quarters of the population – in need of humanitarian assistance.

The pro-government coalition deployed its reinforcements to the Red Sea coast ahead of a new offensive on Hodeida “within days”, a military official said earlier.

He said they would also “secure areas liberated” from the Iranlinked Houthi rebels, and that forces from Sudan, part of the coalition, had moved in to “secure” areas around the city.