Ceasefire in Yemen to take effect Sunday midnight

A UN-brokered ceasefire for Yemen is expected to come into effect in the run-up to peace talks in Kuwait.

The ceasefire is due to begin at midnight (2100 GMT) Sunday. It will initially go into effect in the war-ravaged Ta’iz and Hajjah provinces.

This as sporadic fighting was reported in several regions around the capital, Sana’a, on Sunday. Twenty people were killed as Saudi warplanes carried out several airstrikes across the capital to prevent advances of َAnsarullah fighters.

The truce was announced by the UN special envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed as a step to calm the situation ahead of the negotiations to be held on April 18 in Kuwait.

It was endorsed by Ansarullah movement and resigned president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi’s supporters. Both sides said earlier this week that they submitted their documents on terms of the truce to the UN envoy.

Local reports said that a number of Saudi mercenaries and Hadi loyalists were deployed to Nihm, near Sana’a.

The deployment is aimed at launching a military operation to seize the control of the capital if the upcoming talks fail to end the conflict.

SS