Saudi-led forces say Yemen truce in effect

The Saudi-led forces waging war in Yemen say a ceasefire announced earlier has now taken effect as scheduled.

Spokesman of the Saudi-led forces Brigadier General Ahmed al-Assiri has confirmed that the truce had begun at 0900 GMT on Tuesday.

This is while Yemen’s Ansarullah movement, which has been fighting against Saudi-led forces since March, has yet to react to the ceasefire announcement.

Meanwhile, a United Nations spokesman has also confirmed the Riyadh announcement.

“UN Secretary-General Special Envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed announces today the start of cessation of hostilities in Yemen which he considers an initial first step towards building a lasting peace in the country,” UN spokesman Ahmad Fawzi told a news briefing in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday.

The ceasefire followed a request by fugitive former Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi. Hadi wrote to Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, informing him of a decision by the former Yemeni government to “declare a seven-day ceasefire initiative” on the eve of the UN-sponsored peace talks on Yemen conflict in Switzerland.