Arab League hopes for success of Yemen truce

The Arab League (AL) expressed Wednesday hope for the success of the proposed truce in war-torn Yemen that is scheduled to be implemented later at midnight, the pan-Arab body said in a statement.

The statement said that AL Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit discussed the details of the truce over the phone Wednesday with the United Nations special envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.

"He listened to the most important dimensions of the truce proposed by the UN envoy and the results of Ahmed's latest communication with Yemeni, regional and international parties involved," the statement added.

The AL chief expressed appreciation of the efforts made by the UN envoy to reach the truce, hoping for its success to pave the way for its extension and for returning to negotiations to reach a settlement in Yemen.

The UN-proposed three-day truce in Yemen is scheduled to take effect early Thursday.

A number of Yemeni provinces have become battlefield for constant clashes between supporters of fleeing President Abd-Rabbo Mansour Hadi and the Shiite Houthi fighters since March 2015.

Meanwhile, an Arab military coalition led by Saudi Arabia has been launching deadly airstrikes against Houthi targets, the most recent of which killed at least 140 at a funeral in Yemeni capital Sanaa but the coalition said it was "wrongly targeted." Endit