The internationally recognized Yemeni government and Iran-backed Houthi militia have agreed a ceasefire starting on Monday, Dec. 14.
"Based on what had been agreed upon, there will be a halt of the aggression on the 14th of this month," a spokesman of the Houthi militia said in a telecast, according to Reuters.
Abdulmalek al-Mekhlafi, foreign minister in the Yemeni government headed by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, confirmed a seven-day truce in fighting against Shiite rebels.
"There is an agreement on a ceasefire to begin Monday. From our side, we wish a ceasefire would start even from now," he said, according to AFP.
The ceasefire announcement from the two rival Yemeni governments comes ahead of the U.N.-brokered peace talks in Switzerland. The talks are set to begin on Tuesday, Dec.15.
The U.N. special envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, said last week that delegates from the Hadi-led Yemeni government, Sanaa-based Houthi rebels and the General People's Congress (GPC) party of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh would take part in the talks.
"I have been strongly encouraging the parties to work on confidence-building measures, including a humanitarian ceasefire, release of prisoners and facilitating the delivery of humanitarian supplies. We are hoping to have a ceasefire starting immediately with the talks, but in order to consolidate that and to make it a lasting and long-term and final ceasefire we need to discuss that," the U.N. envoy had said, according to BBC News.
Yemen: Houthis Shut Groups, Detain Activists https://t.co/tfAqDagfTk
— Human Rights Watch (@hrw) December 13, 2015
.@BarackObama MUST cancel $1billion US arms sale to Saudi Arabia before more die in #Yemen: https://t.co/VGptKZk2iD pic.twitter.com/WjSt9v7iOi — AmnestyInternational (@amnesty) December 11, 2015
