Coronavirus outbreak: Saudi-led coalition announces two-week ceasefire in Yemen

The unilateral ceasefire follows an escalation in fighting between the warring parties despite UN calls for peace

By AFP
April 09, 2020

The Saudi-led military coalition fighting Yemen's Huthi rebels has announced a two-week ceasefire in the country starting Thursday to avoid spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

The unilateral ceasefire follows an escalation in fighting between the warring parties despite a call by the United Nations for an immediate cessation to protect civilians in the Arab world's poorest nation from the pandemic.

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The announcement, due to take effect from 0900 GMT Thursday, marks 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 coalition is determined... to support efforts towards combatting the spread of COVID-19 pandemic," Turki al-Maliki, the military alliance's spokesman, said on Wednesday.

"The coalition announces a comprehensive ceasefire in Yemen for a period of two weeks, starting on Thursday."

The two-week truce, which could be extended, was aimed at creating "appropriate conditions" for a UN-sponsored meeting between the warring parties to enable a "permanent ceasefire" in Yemen, Maliki added.

There was no immediate reaction from the Iran-aligned rebels.

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