Saudi Arabia announces ceasefire in Yemen on Wednesday
The military coalition, led by Riyadh, which fights the Houthi rebels in Yemen announced a ceasefire from Wednesday morning and for Ramadan.
The Houthi rebels announced a three-day unilateral truce on Saturday.
AFP
The Saudi-led coalition that supports the Yemeni government against the Houthi rebels in the conflict in Yemen announced on Tuesday evening the cessation of military operations from Wednesday morning and for the fasting month of Ramadan.
“The coalition hereby announces the cessation of military operations in Yemen from 06:00 a.m. local time (05:00 a.m. Swiss time, editor’s note) Wednesday, March 30, 2022,” it said in a statement published by the Agence de Saudi press.
This ceasefire is intended to provide “the favorable conditions necessary for the success of the consultations (Yemeni, editor’s note) and a favorable environment for the holy month of Ramadan to make peace, and achieve security and stability in Yemen”, added the coalition command in its press release.
Prisoner exchanges
The Houthi rebels, after carrying out sixteen attacks against the kingdom on Friday, announced a three-day unilateral truce on Saturday. The insurgents, backed by Iran, have proposed that the truce become “permanent” if Riyadh lifts the “blockade” on Yemen, ceases its air raids and withdraws its “forces” from the country at war since 2014.
On Tuesday morning, Ryad said it was waiting for “serious measures” from the Yemeni Houthi rebels, including an exchange of prisoners, before deciding on the truce. The insurgents announced on Sunday evening an agreement for the release of 1,400 prisoners held by the government against 823 held by the Houthis, including 16 Saudis, three Sudanese and the brother of Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
“A prisoner exchange agreement has been reached through the United Nations,” Houthi representative Abdelkader Al-Mourtada wrote on Twitter. The manager of this file on the government side, Hadi Haig, had however specified on Twitter that the agreement was “still under study”.
The last exchange of prisoners had allowed the release of more than a thousand people in October 2020. Riyadh hosts talks on Wednesday under the aegis of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which brings together six countries, but without the participation of the Houthis who have refused to go into “enemy” territory.
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