The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said on Tuesday it will halt military operations in Yemen starting Wednesday to help create a positive atmosphere during the holy month of Ramadan for negotiations between the Yemeni parties to succeed.
Saudi Arabia welcomed allied factions from the Yemen war on Tuesday as the UN tries to secure a truce aimed at allowing fuel ships and some flights to enter Houthi-controlled areas during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, sources familiar with the matter said.
“The coalition hereby announces the cessation of military operations in Yemen as of 0600am (0300 GMT) on Wednesday, March 30, 2022,” it said in a statement published by the Saudi Press Agency.
“In response to the request made by the Secretary-General of the GCC, Dr. Nayef Al-Hajraf, for the cessation of military operations in conjunction with the launching of consultations between Yemen and Yemen, and in order to create the conditions necessary for successful consultations and a favorable environment for the Holy Month of Ramadan to make peace, the Coalition Joint Forces Command hereby announces the cessation of military operations in Yemen starting at (0600) on Wednesday, March 30 2022 in response to Al-Hajraf's request,” reads an official statement by the official spokesman of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, the General of Turki Al-Malki brigade.
The military coalition carried out air strikes in Yemen this Sunday after the Houthi rebels proposed a three-day truce and offered a permanent ceasefire, according to Saudi media.
The attacks targeted Sanaa, the capital in the hands of the rebels, according to Saudi television Al Ekhbariya TV, which tweeted “the start of air strikes on Houthi camps and strongholds in Sanaa” around midnight.
The attacks began shortly after the Houthis, supported by Iran, announced a three-day truce and offered peace negotiations on the condition that the Saudis cease their bombardments, end the blockade of Yemen and remove “foreign forces” from the territory.
The attack left wounded, according to the rebels, but this information could not be independently confirmed.
The truce proposed by the Houthis came after a series of attacks on Saudi Arabia, which caused a huge fire in a facility of the Armaco oil company in Jedá, near the Formula 1 circuit that hosted a Grand Prix.
“We carried out several drone and ballistic missile strikes,” including an “Aramco installation in Jedah (and) vital facilities in Riyadh,” Iranian-backed Houthi rebels said in a statement.
They also referred to the “deep offensive”, in retaliation for the Arab kingdom's participation in the international operation against the rebels.
Previously, Saudi Arabia's air defense forces reported that its anti-missile shield had succeeded in destroying at least nine drones and one missile launched by the Huthi insurgency launched at the southern part of the country.
The missile targeted the southwestern locality of Najran, while drones targeted positions in the south, center and east of the country, according to the official Saudi news agency SPA.
The Saudi-led coalition has been intervening in Yemen since 2015 to support the internationally recognized government, a year after Iranian-backed rebels took over the capital.
It is the seventh anniversary of the conflict, which has left millions of people on the brink of famine and hundreds of thousands dead and millions displaced.
(With information from Reuters and AFP)
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