Heavy fighting in Yemen despite new ceasefire

SANAA: Yemen rebels and loyalist forces battled Saturday around third city Taez even as a 48-hour ceasefire announced by a Saudi-led coalition fighting the insurgents began following US pressure.

A few hours after the ceasefire took effect at midday ( 0900 GMT), fighting still raged around the flashpoint southwestern city,where violence has killed dozens this week, despite clashes subsiding on several fronts.

Clashes were heaviest in the town of Salo southeast of Taez, military sources said, reporting casualties on both sides.

Inside Taez itself, rebel rocket fire into a residential district killed three civilians and wounded two, military and medical sources said.

Four rebels and two loyalists were also killed in or near Taez, military sources added.

Near the Saudi border further north, two ballistic missiles fired by the rebels hit the coastal area of Midi killing two pro-government soldiers and wounding four, a military commander said.

Intermittent fighting was also reported in Nahm near the capital Sanaa, in Shabwa in the south and Sarwah to the east.

The ceasefire comes after US Secretary of State John Kerry this week met rebel representatives in Oman and also urged the government to come on board.

At first the government rejected the peace bid, saying it had not been consulted.

But it has come under huge pressure to back down in the face of an international outcry over the mounting civilian death toll from 20 months of conflict.

“There are international pressures to observe a ceasefire and to resume ( peace) negotiations,” a source close to the presidency told AFP, requesting anonymity.

The 48- hour truce could be extended if the rebels hold fire and allow aid into besieged loyalist enclaves, the coalition statement said.

More than 7,000 people have been killed in Yemen and nearly 37,000 wounded since the coalition intervention began in March last year, the UN says.

“We really hope that the war will end. All Yemenis are very tired of the conflict,” said Sanaa resident Khaled al-Waysi.

Another resident, Sadeq Juhaifi, said: “We want one of the parties to be courageous enough to announce longterm peace, not just a two or one- day ceasefire.” — AFP

—Reuters photo A deserted street is pictured at the site of recent battles between Houthi fighters and progovernment fighters, on the first day of a 48-hour ceasefire in the southwestern city of Taiz, Yemen.