The Saudi-led coalition began a unilateral ceasefire in Yemen’s long war on Thursday, saying it hoped the initiative to prevent coronavirus in the impoverished country would lead to a wider political solution.
The Iran-backed Huthi rebels have not made any comment on the coalition’s declaration of a two-week pause in the five-year conflict that took effect from 0900 GMT.
If the ceasefire does hold, it would be the first breakthrough since the warring parties agreed to a UN-brokered ceasefire in the port city of Hodeida during talks in Sweden in late 2018.
The UAE, a key ally in the coalition which drew down its troops last year as the conflict became increasingly intractable, applauded the Saudi move as “wise and responsible”.