7-day ceasefire goes into effect in Yemen

A 7-day ceasefire went into effect on Tuesday afternoon between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces and the armed rebels of the Shiite Houthi group across the country's war-torn provinces, a government official told Xinhua.

The renewable ceasefire coincides with the kick-off of UN-sponsored peace talks in Switzerland between the two warring sides.

"A ceasefire has just begun at 12 o'clock this midday local time (0900 GMT) for about seven days to halt all military operations across Yemen and allow the delivery of humanitarian aids to reach people," the local government official based in Aden said on condition of anonymity.

"It also includes stopping all air bombings by the Saudi-led Arab coalition against Houthis-controlled positions in Yemen, " the government source said.

However, military sources told Xinhua that sporadic armed confrontations continued between Houthi rebels and government loyalists in Yemen's northern province of Marib 50 minutes after the beginning of the truce.

Houthis also fired about five shells on sites of pro-government forces in Yemen's third largest city of Taiz, causing casualties among civilians in the area, according to local residents.

A tribal chief told Xinhua by phone saying that "Houthi gunmen breached the ceasefire just 30 minutes after its commencement and clashes are taking place near the southern province of Lahj."

Yemen's official news agency reported the internationally recognized Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi has requested the command of the Saudi-led coalition to abide by the ceasefire and halt military air bombings on Houthis.

Hadi declared last week that the 7-day humanitarian cease-fire will be extended if the Shiite Houthis and their allies lift siege on Yemen's third largest city of Taiz, free detainees and end military actions.

Last week, the UN special envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said he would convene a series of peace talks among the warring parties in Switzerland on Dec. 15, aiming to secure a ceasefire in the war-torn country.

The talks are meant to secure improvements in the humanitarian situation and a return to a peaceful and orderly political transition based on the UN Security Council Resolution 2216 that calls for the withdrawal of Houthi forces from territories they have captured and for them to disarm.

Hadi, the internationally recognized Yemeni president, has informed the United Nations and the coalition command that he would announce an "extendible" seven-day humanitarian ceasefire on Dec. 15 to coincide with the UN-facilitated peace talks.

The Saudi-led Arab coalition began air bombing military bases and arms depots of the Shiite Houthi gunmen in March, and later sent in thousands of ground troops from the UAE, Sudan, Qatar and other nationalities to back pro-government forces.

Bolstered by heavy weaponry and Gulf troops as well as Yemeni fighters trained in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the pro-government fighters retook Aden as well as four other southern provinces in July.

The Shiite Houthi rebels, supported by the Republican Guard Forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, are still holding the capital Sanaa and most of the northern part of the country since September last year.

More than 6,000 people have been killed in Yemen since March in ground battles and airstrikes, half of them civilians. Endit