Saudi coalition begins 48-hour Yemen truce
RIYADH: The Saudi-led military coalition declared a 48-hour ceasefire in Yemen yesterday, on the condition that Shiite rebels abide by it and allow humanitarian assistance into besieged cities, particularly the city of Taiz.
However, minutes after it went into effect, activists in Taiz said rebel shelling continued in the city. A rebel-affiliated military spokesman said there was no halt of fighting.
Colonel Sharaf Loqman, a military spokesman, said the fighting had not stopped at any of the front-lines. He said the rebels supported a full cessation of hostilities, but that the reality at the moment was “all parties are engaged in fighting”.
The Saudi news agency SPA carried a statement from the coalition that said the truce would take effect at 12pm and that it could be renewed.
The coalition warned the rebels, known as Houthis, against any sort of military movement.
The ceasefire comes at a time that forces loyal to the Saudi-backed, internationally-recognised government have made advances in Taiz, which has been besieged by the rebels for the past year.
The coalition has demanded that the Houthis send their representatives to meet with a de-escalation
southwestern city of
carrying an injured comrade during in Yemen on Thursday. Reuters pic
committee based in a southern Saudi city, to make security and military arrangements to end rebel control over several cities in the north — including the capital, Sanaa.
The truce comes two days after an earlier plan for a United States-brokered ceasefire faltered. US Secretary of State John Kerry, who met Houthi representatives in Oman this
in the week, set last Thursday as the beginning of the ceasefire. The plan was immediately rejected by Hadi’s government, which accused Kerry of striking a unilateral deal. AP