RIYADH: Saudi-led Coalition forces supporting Yemen’s legitimate government against Iran-backed rebels will begin observing a 48-hour cease-fire today, the coalition command announced.
In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the coalition said cease-fire will “begin at 12 noon in Yemen’s timing (0900 GMT) on Saturday for a period of 48 hours.”
It said the truce would “expand automatically” if the Houthi militias and their allies “abide by the deal and allow humanitarian aid to areas under siege, particularly the city of Taiz.”
The announcement followed a request for a cease-fire by Yemen’s Riyadh-based President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman, the statement said.
“Coalition forces will abide by the cease-fire,” it said, but warned that should the rebels or troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh make any military moves in the area the coalition would respond.
The naval and air “blockade” will also remain in place and surveillance jets will continue to fly over Yemen, it added.
The coalition has been militarily supporting forces loyal to Hadi’s government since March 2015.
There was no word yet from the rebels on whether they would abide by the new truce.
US Secretary of State John Kerry had announced a cease-fire that was to have taken effect on Thursday, but there was intense fighting Friday, eliminating hopes of warring parties abiding by that truce.
The US chief diplomat had said after meeting with Houthi negotiators in Oman that they were ready to observe the cease-fire plan, but Hadi’s government said it was not aware of any new peace initiative.
Since Thursday, more than 50 people have been killed in clashes between the rebels and loyalists on the outskirts of the third biggest city Taiz, medical and military sources said.
Six attempts to clinch a cease-fire in Yemen have foundered, including a three-day October truce that fell apart as soon as it went into force.
It was designed to allow aid deliveries to millions of homeless and hungry Yemenis.
The United Nations says more than 7,000 people have been killed and nearly 37,000 wounded in Yemen since the Arab coalition began its military campaign last year.
Missile hits Asir
Meanwhile, a Saudi soldier on the kingdom’s border with Yemen was killed when a missile launched from Yemen hit a border post on Thursday, the Ministry of Interior said.
In a statement, the ministry identified the slain border guard as Mohammed Jaafari, assigned to a border post in Asir region.
More than 100 soldiers and civilians have been killed on the Saudi side of the border with Yemen either in rebel rocket fire or armed clashes, since March 2015. (With AFP)