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Ceasefire declared by Saudi-led coalition goes into effect in Yemen

Xinhua, November 19, 2016 Adjust font size:

A 48-hour ceasefire declared by Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen began on Saturday to allow the entry of humanitarian aid to besieged areas.

The two-day ceasefire that began from 12:00 noon in Yemen's timing (09:00 GMT) will be automatically renewed if the Shiite Houthi fighters and supporters of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh adhere to it.

However, residents in the province of Taiz told Xinhua that a number of shells fired by Shiite Houthi gunmen and landed on residential areas minutes after the ceasefire began.

Fierce battles also continued between pro-government forces and Houthi rebels in the eastern areas of Yemen's province of Taiz despite the truce.

Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry said that a Saudi soldier was killed by a missile fired by Yemeni rebels across the border into the kingdom's southern Asir province hours before the beginning of the truce.

The main purpose of the ceasefire is allowing humanitarian aid access to reach besieged areas including the southwestern province of Taiz, according to the Saudi-led military coalition.

The truce came after Yemen's President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi dispatched a private message to Saudi Arabia's King Salman, according to the Saudi-funded Arabiya news channel.

No comments were reported from pro-Houthi authorities in Sanaa regarding their position about the ceasefire.

On Friday, forces loyal to Yemen's government launched military offensives and made ground advances that pushed Houthis out from several areas in Taiz.

The situation in Yemen has deteriorated economically and politically since March 2015, when war broke out between the Shiite Houthi group, supported by former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and the government backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition.

The Houthis and Saleh's forces hold most of Yemen's northern regions while government forces backed by Saudi-led military coalition share control of the rest of the country including seven southern provinces.

The civil war, ground battles and airstrikes have already killed more than 10,000 people, half of them civilians, injured more than 35,000 others and displaced over two millions, according to humanitarian agencies. Endit