Local Editor
The Houthi Ansarullah movement and former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, the group’s main ally, have agreed in principle to a 72-hour ceasefire proposed by the UN’s special envoy to Yemen, local sources said Friday.
According to sources close to Houthi negotiators, who spoke anonymously due to restrictions on speaking to media, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed proposed the ceasefire at a meeting held this week in Omani capital Muscat.
An earlier ceasefire applied in April collapsed after Kuwait-hosted peace talks fell through in August.
Delegations representing the Houthis and Saleh, however, conditioned the new ceasefire on a halt to all military activities in Yemen by a Saudi-led Arab coalition.
Saudi Arabia began its deadly campaign against Yemen in late March 2015. The strikes were meant to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement and restore power to fugitive former president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
About 10,000 people have been killed and over 16,000 injured since Riyadh launched the airstrikes. The Saudi aggression has also taken a heavy toll on Yemen’s facilities and infrastructure.
Yemeni forces have been engaged in retaliatory attacks against the Saudi forces deployed in the country as well as targets inside Saudi Arabia.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
