Saudi-led coalition announces ceasefire in five-year Yemen war

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement said on Wednesday it was halting military operations nationwide in support of U.N. efforts to end a five-year war that has killed tens of thousands and spread hunger and disease.

The move aims to facilitate talks sponsored by U.N. special envoy Martin Griffiths for a permanent ceasefire, and was decided in part to avoid a potential outbreak of the new coronavirus in Yemen, where no cases have been reported so far, coalition spokesman Col. Turki al-Malki said.

It will go into effect at midday on Thursday for two weeks and is open to extension, he said in a statement.

The announcement is the first major breakthrough since the United Nations convened the warring parties in late 2018 in Sweden where they signed a ceasefire in the port city of Hodeidah.

But it is unclear if the Houthis will follow the coalition’s decision.

Spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam said the Houthis had sent the United Nations a comprehensive vision which includes an end to the war and to “the blockade” imposed on Yemen.