Saudi-Led Coalition Ends Yemen Ceasefire

The Saudi statement said that the ceasefire, announced on 15 December, had been ended as a result of continuous Houthi “attacks on the kingdom’s territories by firing ballistic missiles towards Saudi cities, targeting Saudi border posts, and hampering aid operations”.

The statement further said that the Kingdom led coalition was still willing to reach a peaceful solution to the problem.

“The alliance leadership supporting legitimate Yemeni authorities declares the end of the truce starting at 14:00 [11:00 GMT] on Saturday”, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said on Twitter.

However, the ceasefire never really played out on the ground as fighting continued to rage and Houthi forces fired Scud missiles into Saudi Arabia.

“All this shows how unserious the militias and their allies are and their disregard for the lives of civilians, and how they have clearly exploited this truce to make gains”.

The officials said more than 22 Houthi and allied fighters were killed in airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition between Friday and midday Saturday in the provinces of Marib and Jawf. Eleven others were wounded, among them nine children, according to the Saudi Civil Defense.

Saudi Arabia assembled a mainly Arab military coalition in response and began launching air strikes on Hadi’s opponents.

The country is facing a humanitarian catastrophe according to the United Nations, with millions without food security or access to adequate medical care.

Militants loyal to the regime in Riyadh, who also support Yemen’s fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, also took advantage of the ceasefire to advance against the Houthis and seized control of two major cities north of country during the negotiations.

The Reuters news agency claims nearly 6,000 people have been killed since the Saudi coalition entered the conflict in March, almost half of them civilians.