ANSD : Arab coalition orders halt in assault on Yemen's Hodeida: sources

WED 27 - 11 - 2024

Date: Nov 16, 2018
Source: The Daily Star

Arab coalition orders halt in assault on Yemen's Hodeida: sources

_Reuters
ADEN: The Arab coalition has ordered a halt in its offensive against then Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen's main port city of Hodeida, three sources told Reuters Thursday.

The decision came as key Western allies including the United States pressed for a ceasefire ahead of renewed U.N.-led peace efforts to end more than three years of war which have pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.

"The coalition has instructed forces on the ground to halt fighting inside Hodeida," said one pro-coalition military source. Another military source backed by the coalition confirmed the order.

A third non-military source with knowledge of the decision said the coalition was responding to international requests for a ceasefire to ensure the Houthis attend planned peace talks.

A coalition spokesman did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment.

U.N. special envoy Martin Griffiths is trying to salvage talks between the warring Yemeni parties after the last round in September collapsed when the Houthis did not show up.

The Arab coalition intervened in Yemen's war in 2015 to restore the internationally recognized government ousted by the Houthi movement in 2014.

The alliance relies on Western arms and intelligence in the conflict, seen as a proxy war between Riyadh and Tehran, which has killed more than 10,000 people.

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