Yemen cease-fire extension in doubt

Sporadic fighting shook parts of Yemen on Sunday as the Saudi-led Arab coalition battling Iran-backed Houthis warned that a fragile US-brokered cease-fire would not be extended unless violations ended.

The 48-hour cease-fire, which began on Saturday, came at President Hadi’s request.

An AFP correspondent in Sanaa said there had been no coalition airstrikes in the Houthi-occupied capital since the truce took effect.
Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Ahmad Al-Asiri accused the Houthis of 180 violations in the first 10 hours of the cease-fire.

When asked if the coalition would extend the truce into Monday, Al-Asiri said: “If there is a complete halt to the (Houthi) violations, there will be an extension. If they do not stop, this would be a direct violation of the cease-fire conditions.”

Hadi has instructed the army to respond to Houthi violations. The instructions were issued via telephone to Maj. Gen. Tawfiq Al-Qaiz, commander of the 5th Military Region in western Yemen.

Hadi said that round the clock monitoring and aerial surveys were taking place in Yemen’s air space in order to monitor the movements and violations of the Houthis and to deal with them accordingly.

A Yemeni military source indicated that air defense forces of the Arab Coalition Forces intercepted three ballistic missiles at dawn on Sunday. 
The missiles were launched by the Houthis at Marib and were destroyed in the province’s airspace.

The media center of the Yemeni National Army has reported hundreds of violations of the truce by the Houthis. 
The center noted that violations had occurred in the provinces of Marib, Al-Baida’a and Taiz.

UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed urged all parties “to encourage full respect for the cessation of hostilities and to ensure that it leads to a permanent and lasting end to the conflict.”

Source: Arab News