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Yemen's Houthi group says not informed of ceasefire

Xinhua, July 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

Yemen's Shiite Houthi group said Sunday that it had not been informed by the United Nations of a ceasefire, the Houthi-controlled Saba news agency reported.

"Our group will neither declare positive nor negative position towards the ceasefire until we are officially notified about it by the UN," the head of Houthi supreme revolutionary committee, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, was quoted by Saba news agency as saying.

On Saturday, the Saudi-led coalition announced a five-day humanitarian truce with the Shiite Houthi group as of Sunday midnight, according to Saudi Press Agency.

The report said the temporary ceasefire was taken in response to the request of Yemen's exiled President Abd-Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

However, the coalition said if the Houthi fighters and forces loyal to them refuses to stop military operations during the truce, they will be confronted with continued airstrikes.

The previous two ceasefire were not abide by the warring parties.

The Arab coalition has been engaged in a war against the Houthis since late March to restore Hadi's legitimacy. The exiled government announced on July 17 that Saudi-backed fighters has taken full control of the southern port city of Aden after days of battles with the Shiite Houthi militia.

Hadi was ousted by the Shiite Houthi group who had controlled the capital Sanaa since September. He fled to Aden, the temporary capital as he declared, in late February after weeks of house arrest, and has been taking refuge with his cabinet in the Saudi capital of Riyadh since March 26 when the Houthis were besieging Aden city.

Residents in Sanaa said there was no airstrikes in the capital after the truce took effect on Sunday night. Witnesses said warplanes of the Saudi-led coalition struck a weapons depot in Kahlan military base in the northern Saada province.

The warplanes also hit Houthi targets in Sabir area in Taiz province, killing at least 11 people. Endit