48-hour ceasefire declared for Yemen

But Iran-backed Houthi rebels continue their assault on Taez for hours after the renewable truce goes into effect

SANAA // The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthi rebels in Yemen declared a 48-hour ceasefire yesterday, but fighting continued to rage around the city of Taez.

The truce was supposed to begin at noon Yemeni time – 1pm in the UAE – and could be renewed on the condition that the Houthi rebels abided by it and allowed humanitarian aid into besieged cities.

The coalition warned the Iranbacked Shiite rebels against any type of military movement.

But the Houthis continued to battle pro-government forces in Taez hours after the ceasefire was meant to come into effect.

Violence in and around the city has killed dozens this week, despite clashes subsiding on other fronts.

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

Inside Taez, rebel rockets hit a residential district, killing three civilians and wounding two.

Four rebels and two loyalists were also killed in or near Taez.

Near the Saudi border to the north, two missiles fired by rebels hit the coastal area of Midi, killing two pro-government soldiers and wounding four.

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

The ceasefire came after a push by US secretary of state John Kerry, who this week met rebel representatives in Oman and urged the government to come on board.

At first the government, which has deep reservations about a UN peace blueprint it believes undermines its authority, re- jected the plan before later agreeing to observe it.

UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed urged all parties “to encourage full respect for the cessation of hostilities and ensure that it leads to a permanent and lasting end to the conflict”. President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi has rejected a UN proposal to step down while his government forms a unity administration with the rebels.

Mr Hadi asked Saudi King Salman for the pause “in response to UN and international efforts to bring peace to Yemen” and allow aid deliveries. The UN plan also demanded that the rebels send representatives to a monitoring committee provided for under a previous, aborted ceasefire. The committee is to meet just across the border in Saudi Arabia.

The coalition’s air and sea blockade on rebel-held areas will remain in place for the duration of the ceasefire, it said.

Millions of civilians, many of whom fled their homes, desperately need humanitarian aid.

The rebels still control Sanaa, which they seized in 2014, and most of the northern and central highlands. Some towns held by loyalist garrisons are under rebel siege, including Taez.

But the truce comes at a time when forces loyal to the internationally recognised government have made advances in Taez

Six previous attempts at a ceasefire have foundered, the most recent being last month.

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